


Voltron: Galaxies Apart

by PiedPiperWrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 22,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22446520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiedPiperWrites/pseuds/PiedPiperWrites
Summary: With Shiro and Matt safely back at the castle, team voltron prepares for the inevitable battle with Lotor. However, Lotor sets up a trap for Voltron after he discovers Keith's ties to the Galra and tries to bring Keith to the dark side.  With everyone trying to protect Keith, the wrong paladin gets kidnapped. Read more to find out who!PREVIOUSLY UPLOADED ON WATTPADbut I wanted to put it on here too because my wattpad is inactive :/
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

A month has past since Shiro came back. Turns out Matt had teleported Shiro by his mechanical arm in order to help Matt and the other space refugees. It took awhile for team Voltron to find him but it was all worth it. 

Pidge was now reunited with her brother, and the team could form Voltron again. However, as they were searching for Shiro, Zarkon's son Lotor had gained control of the Galra empire. His main goal was to destroy voltron, but after seeing the Galran dagger Keith had, it made him determined to know more. 

"Hey Keith, you aren't actually going to join Prince Lawnmower, right?" Lance asked nonchalantly. They were eating dinner in the dining hall with the rest of team Voltron.

"For the millionth time, no." Keith responded. Back at their last battle, Keith had fought against Lotor. Kieth remembered how Lotor disarmed him of his bayard, so Keith used his Galra sword. Lotor had stopped fighting then, and asked him to join. Keith said no of course, but he saw Lotor smile at him strangely before vanishing with Haggar. 

"Yeah but, aren't you curious to find out about your sword thing?" Lance replied, smirking. 

"Lance.." Hunk started. Lance shrugged.

"What? I just wanna make sure!" Lance protested.

"Well sure I want to know, but I don't trust him. I'd rather find out on my own. " Keith said, taking a bite of the green space goop. He was embarrassed to talk about it, but felt like they should know. 

"And we'll be happy to help with that." Shiro said. Keith looked down, feeling embarrassed, but also a little grateful that they all trusted him so much. Shiro then looked towards Lance, who was more-or-less paying attention. " Won't we, Lance?"

Lance threw his arms up," Wait- What did I do??"

"Ahem." Allura said loudly." Because of Lotor's interest in Keith.." Lance snorted. Pidge kicked his leg from under the table. "We need to be extra cautious with our next missions. Therefore, I'm suggesting that Keith shouldn't be alone during any part of the missions."

"What??" Keith exclaimed.

"It's just to be safe," Allura continued. 

"Haha! Keith has to have a babysitter!" Lance laughed.Keith glared at him

"Actually, I think that we shouldn't have anyone going off on their own. " Shiro added. "We should establish partners for each mission. And for the next mission." Shiro looked towards Lance, who was glaring back at Keith. "Lance will be partnered with Keith."

"What??" Lance and Keith exclaimed.

"Are you crazy??" Lance protested. 

"Shiro-" Keith started. That was probably the worst thing to ever happen to Keith. He didn't want to be partnered with Lance. Sure he was annoying, but Keith especially didn't want him whining in his ear during a mission. 

"No buts," Shiro stated," Consider it an great opportunity to bond."

"You really walked into that one Lance." Hunk laughed.

"C'mon Shiro!" Lance whined.

Keith groaned.

Just then, Coran activated the castle's speakers." Hey, uh, Matt and Pidge? Could ya come ere and help me out with the healing pods? A few of em seem to be malfunctioning."

"Race you there!!" Matt exclaimed, leaving the table as quickly as possible. 

"What- No fair!" Pidge yelled, running after her brother. 

"Right, well I'll be in the training hall." Shiro said, getting up from the table and following the two. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna clean up in the kitchen." Hunk stated, bringing his plate with him as he went to the kitchen.

"I'll check the Castle's systems for the night," Allura said, getting up. " Can you two clean up the table?"

"Anything for you Allura." Lance flashed her a smile. Allura and Keith both groaned.

Keith wandered around the table, picking up the plates and silverware while Lance wiped down the table. "Uh, can you move?" Keith asked. He was trying to get the plates by the side of the table closest to the wall. Except the wall left almost no room in between and Lance was blocking his way. 

"Can't you just go around?" Lance complained. He seemed focused on a particular stain on the table, leaning forward against the table a little. Keith paused, trying to find a way past the space between the wall and Lance's..... Keith blushed as his gaze drifted toward Lances hips.

"Uh, yeah." Keith mumbled, adverting his gaze and immediately walking around the table. What is wrong with me?? Keith thought to himself. He avoided Lance and quickly finished gathering the dishes. 

Keith walked into the kitchen with the dishes, plopping them in the sink. Behind the fridge door, Hunk was putting away the leftovers. To avoid having to do more chores, Keith quietly slipped out of the kitchen and into the hallway without Hunk noticing. Keith stepped down the hall, deciding to go to bed early. As he walked down the hall he could hear Matt and Lance talking by the corridor in the hallway.

"Are you for real??" Keith heard Lance exclaim. "Thank you so much!"

" Ah, you're welcome. " Matt replied." I could only make a few songs on there but-"

"Are you kidding? Any music out here is better than nothing!" Lance exclaimed. " You're the best Matt!" Keith stopped walking for a minute, wondering about their conversation. Keith had never really thought about it.. that they didn't have music out here. He had no idea that Lance even liked music.

Lance past him on his way to his room, holding his headphones and a little black box. "Hey Keith." Lance smiled as he passed. Keith had never seen Lance so excited.

Keith opened the door to his room, going straight to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Keith couldn't sleep.

It had to have been around 11 o'clock, and everyone else was sleeping. Keith got up and walked out of his room. Walking around the castle might help clear my head, he thought. 

Keith walked into the kitchen and got some water, then headed to the main part of the castle. He wanted to look out at the stars through the huge windows in there. Keith took a sip of water and pushed the button that made the door open. 

The doors opened with a swish and Keith stepped out into the huge room, looking around. It seemed bigger without everyone else around. He took another sip of water and walked over towards the edge of the window. Suddenly Keith spotted a human-like figure covered in a blanket hunched by the window. Keith almost choked on his water. Who was out here in the middle of the night? Keith wondered. 

Keith creeped closer, until he spotted the familiar-looking headphones."Lance?" Keith called.

The hunched figure turned to look at him, surprised. "Oh, Keith.." Lance took off his headphones and moved the blanket so it wasn't covering his face.

"What are you doing up so late?" Lance asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Keith replied. Lance nodded slowly and looked back out to the stars. "I couldn't sleep. "

Lance sighed." Yeah, me too."

Keith moved to sit next to him, setting his glass of water down next to him. "Is something wrong?" Keith asked. He wanted to ask Lance how long he'd been there, and why he was just staring out into space. He looked at Lance. There was something sad about the look on his face. 

"Yeah, " Lance said."Just thinking about.. stuff."

"Oh." Keith responded, looking out at the stars. There were millions, if not billions out there. "What kind of stuff?"

"Space." Lance sighed."..Earth... Home." 

"Do you miss it?" Lance asked. Keith looked at him in confusion."The Earth, I mean." 

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Keith responded. He hadn't really thought about it. Sure, he missed Earth, but he didn't really have any family back there. To be honest, he liked being a part of Voltron more than anything, and it finally seemed as though he was getting closer to the truth about his past. 

"We're so far away from the Earth I cant even see it." Lance whispered. Keith felt a pang in his chest. "It's been so long since I've seen my family, they probably think I'm dead." Lance laughed half-heartedly. Keith knew he didn't really find it funny, just laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. "I mean, I know we have important missions and stuff, and the world needs Voltron.. but..."

Lance looked at Keith. "I wanna go home Keith.." Keith looked into Lance's eyes and saw tears. Keith wished he could say something to make him feel better. He had known Lance for a long time now, but it seemed like he barely knew him. And now, when Lance actually tells him, Keith couldn't do anything. 

Lance suddenly sat up a little, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry," He started, trying to get rid of the awkwardness between them." It's late and I'm just tired."

"No, It's okay." Keith mumbled. Lance stopped." I don't really have anyone back home, so I didn't realize it before.. How much the rest of you miss home."

"Oh.. I'm sorry." Lance stared at him.

"But I have you all here with me." Keith shrugged."So its not that bad." He paused, the two of them just staring at each other.

The silence was killing him. Keith felt his face getting hot and he panicked, standing up. "I uh- You should get some sleep."

"Right." Lance said, looking at his feet. Keith looked down at Lance. He seemed smaller than usual, curled up under the blanket, Keith realized."You too." 

"Yeah." Keith said, walking back to his room. Halfway there Keith realized he left his water.

I'll get it in the morning, he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith woke up early, going to pick up the glass of water he left the night before. He yawned, tired from staying up so late. 

As he entered the main room Coran greeted him. "Good morning Keith!"

"Morning Coran." Keith responded, looking around for the glass. He couldn't find it anywhere. 

"Sleep well?" Coran asked. 

"Uh, yeah." Keith said. Then it hit him. Lance must've put it away for him on his way back to bed. He turned to leave, "See you later Coran."

"Hm?" Coran looked over to Keith."Oh, you too."

The door swished open and Keith stepped into the kitchen. Pidge, Matt, Shiro, Hunk and Allura were already eating. Knowing Lance he was still asleep. "Mornig Keef." Pidge greeted him with a mouthful of space goop.

" Don't talk with your mouth full Pidge."Matt said, nudging her in the side. Pidge being severely ticklish there, snorted with laughter and almost spit the goop all over Hunk, who was sitting next to her. 

"Pidge!" Hunk laughed. That made Pidge laugh even harder. She tried to cover her mouth but ended up spitting the food all over her sleeve. "Oh my- "Hunk couldn't even finish his sentence before he erupted with laughter. Everyone else couldn't help but laugh.

"Grosss" Matt giggled.

"This is all your fault Matt." Pidge laughed, getting out of her seat to go clean her arm. She rushed past Keith as he sat down next to Matt with a bowl full of goop. 

Shiro got up, taking his empty plate to the kitchen, "Ill go wake up Lance." He murmured. Keith always wondered why Shiro let him sleep later. Anytime anyone else slept later than seven thirty would get extra chores to do.

Pidge sat back down next to Matt, wiping her wet hands on his face before sitting down. "Pidge!!" Matt exclaimed. Pidge and Hunk were laughing again. Allura too.

Amongst the chaos, Keith couldn't help but feel envious of the two. They were a family again, and that was something Keith couldn't have. At this time, Keith couldn't help but think about last night. Lance probably felt the same way he did, wanting to see his family just like Pidge did. 

"Keith, something the matter?" Allura asked from across the table.

"Oh, no." Keith smiled faintly. "Just thinking." 

Allura smiled back. Keith quickly finished his food and got up. Just then Lance appeared through the door. "Gooood morning everyone." Lance called.

"Oh my gosh Lance the funniest thing happed while you were sleeping," Hunk exclaimed.

Lance sat down immediately,"Oh do tell."

"Hunk no-"Pidge laughed. Keith, now in the kitchen, placed his dishes in the sink. 

Keith was on his way to the training room when he ran into Shiro. "Oh, hey Keith." Shiro called.

"Hey Shiro," Keith replied."Are you using the training room?" 

"No, go ahead." Shiro gestured to the door. He turned to leave. 

"Shiro?"Keith called.

Shiro turned,"What is it Keith?"

"Its not very important, but,"Keith paused."How come you let Lance sleep in so early all the time?"

"Oh.." Shiro rubbed his head." Well.. Lance sometimes gets homesick, and instead of sleeping he'll look out at the stars at night."

"Yeah, I saw him last night." Keith said."I told him to go back to bed."

Shiro laughed lightly. "Must not have worked very well."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Keith asked.

"Oh, he was asleep on the floor this morning, so I carried him back to bed." Shiro explained. "Don't worry about it though, I'm sure Lance doesn't want you to worry about him."

Keith paused. So it was Shiro that put away my glass, He thought. "How often does he do this?"

"Ah, it's been getting more frequent, but usually once or twice a week." Shiro said,"But don't tell Lance I told you, I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember me carrying him back." 

"Oh, " Keith said." Thanks for telling me."

"Yeah," Shiro smiled. He then turned and walked down the hall, leaving Keith to his thoughts.

Keith leaned against the door, puzzled. Once or twice a week? Keith repeated in his head. How could I have not noticed? Keith felt guilty for not knowing more about his teammate. Sure he was annoying, but Keith had started to realize that wasn't always what he was like.


	4. chappy 4

"Paladins! We have an emergency, meet in the Main Chamber right away!"The speakers shouted in Allura's voice.

Keith wiped the sweat from his face and headed towards the door. He had only been training for a few minutes before the alarm sounded. 

Keith sprinted down the hall, wondering what the problem could be. 

"Paladins, I just recieved a call from Shay requesting help." Allura explained when everyone had arrived.

"Oh no, not Shay?!" Hunk exclaimed.

"The Galra have invaded the planet and have been taking her people hostage." Allura continued, "We don't have much time, get suited up and prepare for a jump."

"Alright!" Lance cheered.

"Lets go!" Shiro exclaimed, leading everyone out the door.

Keith got dressed quickly as the castle jumped through space to Shay's planet. He made it to the Red Lion in no time, powering it up for the mission. "Good Kitty." Keith murmured.

*Everyone there?* Shiro asked over the headset.

*Blue is all ready to go*

*Same here Shiro*

*Green's good to go*

"Me too" Keith replied. 

*Alright, here's the plan...*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this ones so short but the next one will be longer I promise!


	5. Chappy 5

"Lance, Keith!" Shiro called through the tunnels." Take the red Lion and go with Pidge and the Green Lion to go rescue Shay's family!"

Keith nodded and ran back down the tunnels with Lance beside him. To keep the Galra ship from noticing them, the paladins had to hide their Lions in the tunnels and fend off the Galra from inside. Sadly, Shay informed them that some had already been brought aboard the ship. It was now Keith and Lance's job to rescue them while Pidge hacked into the mainframe to find out where they were being held.

"Your lion is so much smaller than mine." Lance commented. 

Keith groaned, taking off with Lance in the Red Lion. "It's not a competition Lance."

"Well yea.." Lance nodded."But if it were-"

"Lance! Can you please focus!" Keith exclaimed.

"I am focusing!" Lance retorted.

"Ugh!!" Keith groaned." I will not hesitate to eject you out into space."

"Pshhhh-Hey look!" Lance exclaimed. They had just made it to the Galra ship, hiding underneath the huge thing. Pidge's lion was already there.," Hurry and open the doors, Pidge is already ahead of us!"

*Would you stop bickering and give me a hand?* Pidge cut in.

They followed Pidge into the ship, sneaking their way into the control room. All three of them had their bayards out, ready to attack. 

A guard stood by the entrance of the control room, before it could react, Lance had shot him wth his bayard."Nice work Lance." Pidge called, hurrying to open the door. 

"They don't call me Sharpshooter for nothin." Lance grinned.

"No one calls you that Lance." Keith said, following Pidge inside.

"What?? Shiro did once," Lance protested, grabbing the guard and pulling him inside. "That totally counts!"

"When did he ever call you that?" Keith squinted.

"We were rescuing Slav and I shot this guy's arm from space." Lance explained." Pidge, tell him, you were there!"

"Both of you quiet!" Pidge exclaimed." Do you want to get caught??"

Lance quieted down. "Okay, go down the hall to your right, I'll guide you from there."

"Got it." Keith and Lance rushed out the door, following Pidge's directions.

"Where to Pidge?" Keith whispered.

*Keep going straight, then take the next left*

"Thanks", Keith responded. Keith and Lance hadn't run into any Galra troops so far as they kept moving.

*Turn right up ahead, they should be right there*

"Got it" Lance replied. They turned the corridor to find two Galra soldiers guarding a door. Both of them were hiding behind the wall, waiting. "That must be it." Lance whispered. "I'll take the one on the right, you take the one on the left."

Keith nodded. Lance sprang from his hiding spot and fired his bayard straight at the soldier's chest. Keith followed suit and disabled the other one who was running towards Lance. Both soldiers were now on the floor.

"Sharp work samaruai." Lance commented." Hey Pidge, can you open the doors?"

*I'm on it*

The doors immediately unlocked. Keith could see about seven Balmerans. "Hey, we're here to rescue you." Lance called." Can all of you walk?"

They nodded, thanking the two paladins for rescuing them. "Alright, let's go." Keith called. He took up the front, leading them back to the lions while Lance brought up the rear. Keith could hear the soldiers shouting behind them as they ran. 

Pidge was waiting outside the control room as they made their way back down the hall."Uh guys, the guards are getting closer!" Lance shouted from the rear. Keith could hear their weapons firing. 

"Just hold on, we're almost there!" Keith shouted back. He led the Bulmerans through the last door on the way to the lions. Most of them had already passed through the door, but Keith couldn't see Lance. "Come on Lance!"

"Yeah, I'm right behind!" Keith saw Lance turn the corner, bayard aimed behind him. Lance looked over to Keith, about to make his way down the hall when suddenly a blast from one of the guards hit Lance. The blast shot him in his side, the momentum smashed him against the wall, knocking his helmet off.

"Lance!!" Keith shouted. He was in shock. Keith tried to get to him, but the Bulmerans were in the way. 

Lance winced, clutching his side, pain shot through his whole body. Blood was spattered along the floor. He tried to stand but his vision was cloudy, his hand slipped on the blood on the ground when he tried to get up. Behind him, he could see the Galra closing in. We don't have much time, Lance thought. 

"Lance! I'm coming!" Keith shouted. Lance turned at the sound of his voice, watching as Keith made his way to the open door.

"No," Lance tried to say. His side hurt when he talked. " Keith you won't make it, just go!" He yelled, but he knew that Keith wouldn't listen. 

The Galra had almost reached Lance, and Keith was almost at the door. Lance knew he would only slow them down, and Keith couldn't get to him fast enough before the Galra got there. 

So Lance raised his Bayard and fired at the door's lock system. " take care of Blue for me" Lance called out as the doors shut, permanently sealing with Keith on the other side. The Galra were already pulling him to his feet, blood rushing down his side. 

"LANCE!!!" Keith screamed, pounding on the door. He sheathed his bayard and swung it at the door. Sparks flew off as the two connected, but it didn't budge. "Lance open the door!!" Keith shouted.

*Keith, Lance come on we have to go* Pidge called.

"No, Lance is still in there!" 

*What happened? Why isn't he with you?*

"He was keeping the soldiers at bay while we made it through but he got shot a-and the door closed and we have to go back for him!" Keith panicked.

*Keith we can't help him right now*

"Pidge!"

*I know, but we need to get the Bulmerans to safety first. Then we'll go get Lance back, Okay?*

"Pidge he's really hurt, it's all my-"

*KEITH, we don't have time! I'm sorry but we need to go! Now!*

Keith pounded on the door one last time, hoping that it would open. Then he ran. He ran back to his lion and got out with the Bulmerans.

*Don't worry, Lance is tough* Pidge said, though Keith could hear the strain in her voice. She was trying to keep it together.

"Yeah, He'll be fine." Keith reassured. Though he didn't believe a word he said.

The Galra soldiers held Lance as he struggled. Pain shot from his wound, making him dizzy. "Stop struggling Paladin, you'll only make it worse." 

Lance looked up to see Lotor, walking towards him. "Let me go."Lance said through gritted teeth.

"Oh no, you see.." Lotor came closer as Lance's vision started to blur. He had lost too much blood, and was starting to lose consciousness." We're going to have some fun.."

That was all Lance could remember before blacking out.


	6. chappter 6

After Keith and Pidge took off, the Galra ship disappeared, jumping through space. Keith looked on with dread as he realized there was no way to go back for Lance anymore.

As soon as they made it back to the ground, Keith and Pidge helped the Bulmerans back to their home. "Hey Keith, Pidge, nice work up there!" Hunk exclaimed, rushing over to them with Shiro following behind. He was smiling brightly. 

"Where's Lance?" Shiro asked. Keith's heart dropped. How could he say it? 

"Lance, didn't make it.." Pidge whispered. She turned away, trying to keep herself from crying. 

"Wait- What are you talking about?" Hunk exclaimed. 

"What happened??" Shiro demanded.

So Keith told them. He told them how he got shot, and how he shot the door controls, sealing himself inside. Keith watched as Hunk's smile disappeared. He watched as tears sprang to Pidge's eyes. And he told them it was all his fault. 

"We'll get him back Keith." Shiro said, pulling him into a hug," It wasn't your fault, we all made a commitment to Voltron. It's our duty to protect, any one of us would have done the same." He said.

"But it is my fault." Keith replied,"I should have been there to help him."

"There's nothing you could have done Keith. " Shiro stated. "Now come on, we gotta hurry and get back to the castle."

"Right! Let's go save Lance!" Hunk exclaimed. 

Though, none of them really knew how hard it would be to get their friend back.


	7. hes gonna die :(

Lance awoke to a bright light shining in his face. Where am I? He thought, looking around. He tried to sit up but something stopped him. 

Lance lifted his head a little, wincing in pain. Right.. He thought, remembering his wound from earlier. Lance was still a little drowsy, but from what he could tell he was in a small room, strapped to a table. 

I must be in a Galra ship.. Lance concluded. 

"Sir, he's waking up." 

Lance strained to see who was talking, but he could hardly move because of the straps holding him down. "Hey," Lance called. His voice was raspy. "Hey where am I? What are you doing?"

"Do something about that annoying voice would you?" 

"Yes sir"

"Hey wait! Answer me!" Lance shouted. One of the people in the room came over to Lance's face with a cloth to tie around his mouth. Lance struggled against the straps holding him."Stop!" Lance pleaded before the clothe had been secured. It tasted like dust. 

"Alright, now that he's awake we can start stitching up his wound. Please remove his armor."

"Yes sir."

Lance kept struggling but stopped when the pain in his side worsened. He could taste blood in his mouth. "Don't worry young paladin," Lance assumed it was one of the Galra soldiers. "We're just treating your wounds."

Lance tried to ask why, and tell him he didn't want to be a guinea pig, but the cloth muffled his protests. 

"Why you ask? " The man laughed .

" Its so you don't die when we start to torture you"


	8. sorry Lance

"What do you mean Lance is gone?" Allura protested.

"Allura-" Shiro started.

"We just got the team back together again!" She exclaimed," We need to find him!"

"Its not that simple Allura," Shiro explained. "The ship had already taken off, and Lance was injured."

"Im sorry Allura, Its all my-" Keith started, fidgeting nex to the rest of the team.

"No, it isn't anyone's fault. " Shiro looked back at Keith. " We can't be focusing on what we could have done. We just have to focus on getting him back." 

Allura sat down on the floor, holding her head in her hands. "I just hope he's alright.." She murmured. "How injured was he? We need to be prepared to treat him when we find him."

Keith's mind flashed back to when Lance was shot. He trembled a little when he recalled the spatter of blood, and Lance dropping to the ground.

"Keith." Shiro repeated.

"Huh?" Keith looked up."Oh, Lance was shot in the side.." Keith pointed to himself. "Right around here I think." 

Just then Coran came around the corner. "I have bad news I'm afraid. Pidge and I were unable to track the Galra ship."

Hunk sat down on the floor. "So we can't find Lance?" He asked.

"Not quite yet." Coran frowned, "But we're working on a way to track his helmet."

"Really?" Hunk asked." You can do that?" 

"Yeah, it just might take a while longer because he's so far away. "Coran explained. 

"How long will that take?" Keith asked.

"Oh, maybe two, three days at the least." Coran said.

"What?" Keith exclaimed.

"Lance might not have that long!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Alright everyone just calm down." Shiro said. "Lance will be fine. This is our only option right now, so we just have to hope that he can hold out for another day or two." 

"That's right." Allura said, standing up." Lance wouldn't want us worrying about him anyway. "

"Yeah." Hunk sighed. 

"You should all get some rest." Shiro said.

"But Shiro-"Keith protested.

"Its been a long day, and getting all worked up isn't going to solve anything. " He said. "Matt and Pidge are working on a way to find him an we'll let you know when we do, okay?"

"Alright.." Keith muttered, looking away. He and Hunk followed each other out and back to their rooms. 

Keith sat on his bed, thinking about Lance. He was worried about what the Galra might do to him. Keith couldn't help but think of everything they did to Shiro. Would they do that to Lance? Keith wondered. He couldn't help but imagine Lance fighting in the arena, all alone. Keith shook his head. No, he shouldn't be thinking about what could be happening to him. There was nothing Keith could do to help him right now. 

Keith laid back against his pillow. He only hoped they would rescue Lance before he had to go through anything like what Shiro did.

About four hours passed before Coran announced over the speakers. "Still no progress with the helmet tracker, but everyone should meet in the dining hall for dinner. "

Keith sat up. He had hoped for better news. Keith walked down the halls in a slump. He wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't help but try to imagine what Lance is going through, and he knew it was all his fault. Sure, it was the Galra's fault, but Keith couldn't help but feel responsible for his teammate. Back when Shiro was gone and Keith was leading the team it was his job to protect everyone. And even though Shiro's back again Keith still felt that responsibility. 

Keith reached the door, taking a breath before entering. 

Keith sat down at the table next to Matt. Everything was quiet. It seemed sad, and no one knew what to say to make the others feel better. Keith looked down at his food. If Lance were here, he'd know how to cheer everyone up, Keith thought. He always liked how Lance was able to make the most out of every situation. Sure, at times it was kinda annoying, but now that Lance was gone Keith couldn't help but miss it. 

"Why are we just sitting here?" Hunk said out of the blue."We should be working on a way to find Lance."

"Hunk, everyone's been going at it for the past four hours, they needed a break." Shiro stated.

"What have you been doing Hunk?!" Pidge yelled."Don't blame me for this!"

"I never said I blamed you!" Hunk yelled back." I just think we should be more focused on-"

"What do you think we've been doing??" Pidge yelled back.

"Hey, just calm down-" Keith cut in.

"How are you so calm right now?!" Hunk yelled at him. "My best friend is gone! Your teammate! And you're just sitting here like it's nothing!"

"I-I m not-" Keith stuttered. 

"Hunk stop." Shiro interjected.

"You all are acting like it's no big deal!" Hunk shouted, gesturing towards Shiro,"They could be torturing him right now and-" He glared at Keith."It's all your fault!"

"Hey!" Allura yelled. Keith stared blankly at Hunk, then looked back at his plate.He knew that Hunk was just worried and angry..but Hunk was right.

Hunk stormed out, leaving his untouched food. "Keith, it's -"

"Yes it is Shiro." Keith shot back." It is my fault. I should have been there for him."

"Keith...." Allura called as he walked out of the room. Keith wiped his eyes as he made it out the door. He walked back to his room, never wanting to come out again.

After dinner Matt and Pidge went back to work on the tracker, while Coran and Allura tried to help them. Shiro was trying to do something useful, but cleaning the castle was the only thing he could think of to get his mind off the situation. There wan't much anyone could do, but it felt like they should be doing something. The team left Hunk and Keith alone for the rest of the day, thinking it best to give them some space. 

Pidge and Matt stayed up most of the night trying to get the tracker to work, while Coran brought them snacks every once in awhile. Allura went to bed after Shiro scolded her for hovering, and Shiro ended up falling asleep in the common room, waiting for some news. 

Keith couldn't fall asleep. He sat up in bed. Keith couldn't stand to be in his room anymore, and just wanted to escape. He didn't know what he could do to escape this feeling. 

As Keith was walking around, he found himself at Lance's room. Keith let out a breath, just staring at the door in front of him. He slowly reached out his hand and opened the door. 

Keith didn't know what he was expecting. It was pretty dark, with a little light from the hall shining through, illuminating the room. Keith had never actually been inside Lance's room before. Sure, he had seen it from the halls and stuff, but he had never been inside. 

Keith walked in to find it was much like his own room. Had a bed on one side and a little desk drawer on the back wall. The only difference was the headphones on the desk, Lance's jacket on the bed, and..... 

Keith stepped closer, curious. There were photos. Lance had photos stuck to his wall of the team during missions and aliens they met. Keith had never noticed him taking these. Keith recognized one of Shay and Hunk, and Shiro and Pidge. There was one of Lance and a few aliens posing. There were a bunch with Lance, Hunk and Pidge goofing off. Keith even found pictures of himself. There was one of Keith and Lance where Lance was doing a peace sign and Keith was just there behind him smiling faintly at Lance's ridiculousness. There were many photos on the wall, but there wasn't a single photo of just Lance. Keith had imagined Lance would have many photos of just himself, not of the team. Keith spent almost a half hour there, staring at the photos and smiling at the good memories that came with them. 

Keith turned and looked around the room. He sat on Lance's bed, picking up his jacket. It was cold. He closed his eyes and layed down on top of the bed. He was on his side, holding the jacket close to him. It smelled faintly like Lance. 

Keith stayed there for a while, thinking about the photos. Lance had photos of everyone, and Keith didn't have any. 

Suddenly the door opened. Keith, who was facing the wall, didn't bother to look to see who it was. The person stepped into the room. "Keith?" 

It was Hunk."Yea" Keith mumbled. He heard Hunk lean against the wall, sliding to sit on the ground. The room was quiet. 

Keith turned around, facing the other way with Lance's jacket still in his arms. It was too dark for him to really see Hunk. All he could see was a faint shadowy figure. Neither of them spoke for awhile. Hunk seemed to be taking in Lance's room. 

"Do you hate me?" Keith asked quietly, breaking the silence.

He heard Hunk let out a breath. It was silent a moment longer before he spoke. "no."Hunk replied. His voice was dull and quiet, almost sad. "I don't think I was ever mad at you. I guess I'm mad at myself. "

Keith was surprised, but he kept quiet. "I'm mad at myself because I wasn't even there. I wasn't there to help or do anything. I was with Shay the whole time, I didn't even know he was gone." Hunk sniffed. Keith knew how he felt. "And I'm mad at Lance."

Hunk laughed lightly." It's just like Lance to sacrifice himself like that, without thinking about how it makes us feel. That's why I don't blame you, Keith. I don't think anyone could stop him when he set his mind to something. "

"I could have done something.." Keith responded. His voice was raspy. "I should have gotten to him faster-"

"Keith." Hunk interrupted. "Everyone on this team blames themselves for what happened to Lance. But it's no ones fault, okay?"

Keith fell silent. In a way, Hunk was right. "I guess there's really nothing we can do right now. I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"It's okay." Keith replied.

"No, it's not. " Hunk said. "It was unfair of me." 

Hunk leaned his head back. "I feel so useless."

"I just wish there was something I could do,"Keith agreed."Pidge and Matt and Coran are the only ones doing anything helpful."

"Yeah." Hunk said. "If Lance were here, he'd be able to cheer everyone up."

Keith didn't know what to say. It seemed like Hunk was feeling the same way he was. Keith closed his eyes. If only there was something they could do. He had to say something.

"We just have to do what Lance would do. " Keith said finally, opening his eyes. "We gotta work extra hard to keep everyone together."

Hunk wiped his eyes. "Thanks Keith."


	9. Chapter 9: its about to go down

Lance's eyes fluttered open. Still drowsy, Lance looked around. He was all alone in a medium sized room, strapped upright on what liked like vertical metal table. He tried to move, but pain flashed through his body. Lance winced. He realized his wound hadn't healed yet, but he could tell it was better than before. Lance could see his armor was gone, he was wearing just his black under-uniform.

Bracing through the pain, Lance struggled to pull his arm free. The straps loosened lightly, but not by much. They were still tightly holding him against the metal. Lance stopped, breathing heavily. It was no use, he couldn't break free. His stomach hurt. The last thing he'd eaten was some green space goop from the castle. Lance looked up at the ceiling, wondering how long he'd been here. He'd give anything for some of that space goop right now. 

Suddenly the door swung open. A chill ran up Lance's spine when he saw Lotor, waltzing through the door with two Galra soldiers behind him. "Lotor." Lance muttered. One of the soldiers walked over to inspect the straps holding Lance. 

"Ah, you're awake!" Lotor exclaimed. " Now we can start. "

"Start what?" Lance asked, still kinda drowsy." How long have I been here?" One of the Galra struck lance with his fist. For a moment, Lance's vision clouded with pain.

"You do not ask questions." The soldier demanded. "Prince Lotor was kind enough to spare your life, so you will answer his questions. "

Lance swayed his head over to the soldier," Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not into guys." The guard struck him again. Blood ran down Lance's face from a gash on his forehead. Crap, that hurt, Lance thought. 

"Enough. " Lotor commanded. "Your services are no longer needed."

"Yes sir." Both galra soldiers replied, immediately exiting. 

"What's your name, Blue paladin?" Lotor asked. Lance forced a smile.

"Playing a little good-cop bad-cop then, huh?" Lance joked. Though he could tell Lotor had no idea what a cop even was. 

Lotor took a step closer. " Its only fair that I know my enemy's name, don't you think? You know mine." 

Lance stayed silent as Lotor crossed the room. He was now standing at a little control panel."Alright then." Lance could tell his patience had already reached it's limit. "You see, that contraption you're strapped to? If you don't answer my questions truthfully, you'll be electrocuted." 

Lance stayed quiet, trying to calm his nerves. "Now, I'm not sure how much of a shock a human can take, so there's no guarantee you'll survive. So let's try this again, Paladin." Lotor smiled an evil grin. "What's your name?"

Lance swallowed, pausing for a moment. "Lance."

"Now you're catching on Lance!" Lotor exclaimed. "Now, how many people are a part of your team?"

"Sure you can count that high?" Lance retorted. His name was all Lotor was going to get out of him. 

"Wrong answer." Lotor stared, pressing a button. 

Lance gritted his teeth, trying not to scream as the metal behind him sent a bolt of electricity through him. It lasted only four seconds, but felt like more to Lance. When it was over, Lance gasped for air, coughing. 

"How many people are a part of your team? " Lotor repeated. 

"Go to hell." Lance said through gritted teeth. 

No matter what, Lance wouldn't give up on his team.


	10. Uhh chapter 10

"Guys! We got it!" Pidge exclaimed. "We know where Lance is!"

Keith sat up. He had been laying on the couch after Matt told him to stop looking over his shoulder. It had already been three days since Lance got captured, and they were all a little impatient. Hunk came running. Keith hurdled over the couch to where everyone was gathered.

"WHere is he??' Hunk exclaimed.

"In space??" Pidge responded impatiently." I just have the coordinates, not his surroundings, Hunk."

"That's wonderful Pidge!" Allura exclaimed. Matt looked on, a little disappointed that no one gave him credit for helping too. 

"Let's go get suited up." Keith said. Hunk and Keith ran out the door, not wasting another moment. 

"Alright then. " Shiro called. "Allura, you'll take the Blue Lion."

"Right." Allura agreed. They all ran to get ready for the jump. Matt and Coran stayed behind to pilot the castle as they jumped to Lance's coordinates. 

The day before, Shiro had gone over a plan with them. Basically, what to expect in case it was a trap. They were all prepared for what could happen, and every paladin carried a small first aid kit attached to their hip. Coran had shown them one of his tutorial videos for how to give basic first aid, and they had all gone through it, even Shiro. It was nice for the team to be doing something together again, even under the circumstances. 

It felt good to be back in his lion. Keith took the controls, sensing his lion's impatience. Keith knew his lion sensed Lance was in danger. Back when Keith was piloting the black lion, Lance was the only other person who could pilot Red. "We'll get him back Red, don't worry." Keith whispered.

*Everyone ready?* Shiro called

*Yup* Pidge and Hunk replied.

*Good to go Shiro* Allura called.

*Ready* Keith responded.

*Get ready for the jump*

"You'd make it a lot easier on yourself if you just answer my questions. " Lotor repeated. This was the second day of questioning, and still, Lance had only given him his name.

Lance panted, raising his head to look at Lotor with a smile. "I... won't.."

"Why are you so loyal to them?" Lotor walked closer, only a foot or two away from Lance. "They left you behind, Lance. "

"No.. It was...my choice." Lance closed his eyes. He could barely talk, his throat was so dry. 

"Was it?" Lotor questioned. "They haven't even tried to find you ya know."

"I d..don't... believe that...." Lance responded. 

"You'll see." Lotor said, turning to leave.

"They won't come for you." 

The door shut, leaving Lance all alone again. Lance didn't believe Lotor. He knew the others wouldn't just leave him here.

His whole body was shaking from today. Lance just wished the team would hurry up. They gave him a little water and food the night before but Lance was still starving. He had been left tied to the metal for two days now. 

Lance leaned his head back against the cold metal, closing his eyes. His wrists were bleeding from the straps holding him. Whenever he got shocked he would pull against them, making his wounds deeper. 

The day before, Lotor had gotten frustrated with him after about four hours, and had left him alone just like today. But Lance had a feeling he would be back again today. Lance couldn't do anything except wait.

Lance shifted his position, wincing. Keith, Hunk, Shiro, Pidge, Matt, Allura, Coran...He thought to himself, still shaking. I'm not going to give up, Lance promised them. 

The team had jumped through space to Lance's location, but were met with two Galran battleships. *Paladins, Lance is on the one to the left.* Matt called.

*So then we don't need the one on the right* Keith smirked. 

*Form Voltron and use the sword to take out the one on the right* Shiro instructed.

Keith pulled at the controls, but Red didn't move right. "C'mon, Red, we gotta save Lance." After a pause, Red followed the others. That was wierd, Keith thought. He flew his lion in formation and they formed voltron. 

Keith put his bayard in the control panel and turned it. The giant sword materialized just as the smaller Galran ships were deployed. The team swung at the big ship on the right, flying around it and slicing it in half. Keith looked away from the explosion, directing attention to the other ship.

*Nice work Keith* Allura called.

*Everyone, split up, Keith, Pidge and I will go aboard the ship o find Lance, Allura and Hunk, guard the castle and destroy as many smaller ships as you can* Shiro directed.

*On it* Pidge responded.

*You can count on us Shiro* Allura called.

Voltron split apart in a flash, and the three lions took off towards the ship. Keith was the fist one out of his lion, followed by Shiro and Pidge. He cut a hole in the ship and the three of them stepped inside.


	11. Chapterer Eleveven

Lance's eyes snapped open. He was hearing something from outside the doors. It was pretty far away, but it was definitely something. Lance leaned forward, straining to hear, but wincing as the straps holding his arms dug into the wounds on his wrists.

It got quiet all of a sudden and Lance wondered if he heard anything at all. Then he heard a particularly loud scream and knew he hadn't. Deep down Lance hoped it was the team coming to rescue him. He knew it was unlikely, but he couldn't help but hope. 

"He's down this hall, to the left. " Pidge directed, looking at her little orange screen. 

Keith grunted as another swarm of Galra appeared. He and Shiro charged forward, taking out as many as they could while Pidge covered them. It was more than they had expected, and the number of soldiers just kept increasing as they went on. 

Keith wiped the sweat from his forehead as Shiro took out the last one. Pidge rushed forward, leading them to Lance. "Cmon, we can't waste any time." Pidge called. Shiro and Keith ran after her, turning the hall to find more Galra coming towards them. 

Pidge quickly turned the corner, avoiding the soldiers and continuing on the path. Keith and Shiro followed with out question. 

"This is it!" Pidge exclaimed. Behind that door is Lance, Keith thought happily. They braced themselves for any soldiers that might be on the other side. 

The noises had stopped again, and Lance could hear footsteps coming closer. He was staring at the door, hoping to see one of the paladins on the other side. 

The door opened. Lance could feel his heart drop.

It was Lotor, and his two other soldiers. "Sorry about the noise, we were just testing out a new way to torture you."

Lance glared at him. "What? Its your own fault Lance. Obviously electrocution isn't working."

"You.... really suck." Lance commented. 

Lotor made a face. "You can stop this Lance, just tell us what we want to know and we'll let you go." 

"You'll kill me.. before I tell you anything.." Lance smirked. He figured he might as well annoy the crap out of Lotor in the meantime. It was the only thing he could do to get back at him for all the pain he caused. 

"Damn!!" Keith yelled. He slammed his fist against the wall in anger. When they opened the door, it had just been Lance's uniform on a scanning table. Pidge went over to look for clues while Shiro shoved the one guard against the wall. 

"Where is he?!" Shiro demanded. He had the galra soldier by the collar, with his other hand pointed at his throat and glowing like a knife. 

"H-he's not here!" The Galra shreiked. "L-Lotor has him on a different ship f-for questioning!"

"Where is it?" Shiro demanded. Keith and Pidge watched on, wanting to stop Shiro, but they both knew this would be their only chance to find out more.

"I-It's near a planet.." The soldier replied.

"Which one." Shiro continued.

"I-I don't know! Lotor kept it a secret, but he-he left a message on the helmet!" He exclaimed. 

Pidge immediately unplugged the helmet, tucking it under her arm. Keith found a bag on the ground and put the rest of Lance's armor inside just to be sure. Shiro knocked out the Galra soldier and led the two out of the room.

*He's not here* Shiro said. Keith could tell he was angry. So was Keith. 

*What?* Hunk exclaimed,*Didn't you track his helmet?*

*The helmet was the only thing there* Pidge commented. *But we may know where he is*

*That's better than nothing,*Allura sighed, *Good job paladins, lets get out of here*

When the team arrived back at the castle, they space jumped away as quickly as possible. There were just too many Galra ships for them to take on. The paladins didn't even bother to change out of their armor and headed straight for the main room where Coran and Matt were. 

Keith set the rest of Lance's armor down and joined Shiro and Pidge. As Shiro explained the situation, Pidge got to work on the helmet, trying to find Lotor's message. 

Keith glanced over at Hunk. He seemed disappointed that they didn't find Lance. They all were, really, but at least they're one step closer thanks to Shiro's interrogation. After Shiro had finished explaining, Matt and Coran went to help Pidge while Shiro, Hunk, Keith, and Allura stood around, waiting. 

"Got it." Pidge said, hooking up the helmet to the main monitor. 

The video loaded for a few second, then started playing. "Hello Paladins. " It was Lotor. "I assume you all made it through my trap then? Too bad."

Keith clenched his fists. No one took their eyes off the screen. Lotor laughed, "Im guessing you all thought I wouldn't know about the tracking system in the helmets." He sighed," I only wish I could have seen the look on your faces when you realized the blue one wasn't there!"

"So, you want him back." Lotor said darkly." Paladins, you have two options. One, You surrender Voltron to me, and I'll return the blue one. " Lotor tilted his head ," Oor option two, you rescue him yourself."

"I do wish you would consider the first option though. " Lotor sang. "Even though the blue one hasn't said anything yet, I'm sure he won't last much longer." Lotor grinned, then the screen went dark. 

They all stood there in silence, still staring at the screen. Keith turned away, wanting to punch something. "Obviously we have to go for option two." Shiro said. "Lotor's just messing with us, I'm sure Lance is okay."

Everyone nodded and murmured positive words, but no one really believed that. After that, no one knew what to do. Allura started searching the galaxy for some hints of possible Galra ships they could gather intel from. Shiro stayed in his room. Pidge and Matt went to catch up on some sleep, from staying up almost three nights in a row. Hunk was stress-baking. Coran was stress-cleaning. And Keith..

Keith found himself back in Lance's room. He was sitting on his bed, just staring at all the photos on Lance's wall. Keith couldn't help but think about what Lotor said about Lance. He had said he hadn't talked, meaning Lance was being tortured for information. Keith rubbed his head. And that means it'll just get worse for Lance if he doesn't talk. 

He didn't know what kind of questions Lotor was asking, but if Lance wasn't answering, then they must be important. Keith put his head in his hands. Where are you Lance? Keith thought to himself. Just hold on, we're coming to get you.

Another night had passed with only a cup of water and a small bowl of oatmeal-like food. This time though, Lance spent the night in a cell. His hands were cuffed together with kind of the same restraints Allura used on the team during their "bonding moments". Lance was relieved to be able to lay down.

His wrists had stopped bleeding, and the pain in his side wasn't nearly as bad as before. It was cold in the cell, and with no light Lance couldn't see anything. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, despite the pain he was in. 

Lance awoke to two Guards dragging him out of the cell. He struggled, but couldn't get free with his hands tied. They dragged him down the hall and put him n the same room he was in before. Only this time, they seated him in a chair. After strapping his arms and legs down Lotor came in with another guard. 

"Lance,"Lotor greeted,"Ready to talk today?"

"Good morning Prince Lawn Mower, " Lance replied sweetly. Lotor's smile vanished. 

"I see. " Lotor said." Still trying to be loyal to the team that abandoned you." 

"I trust them more than you." Lance retorted.

"Why?" Lotor spat."Is it because I tell you the truth? Well truth is Lance, you're useless to them. They don't need you."Lance felt a pang in his chest. " That's why they aren't coming to rescue you and deep down you know it's true."

Lance stayed silent. It's not true, Lance repeated to himself, I won't give up on them."Still nothing?"Lotor asked."Alright then. " He motioned for the other soldiers and turned to leave.

The other soldiers took out a syringe with some weird purple liquid inside."Wait-What's going on? Don't-" Lance yelled.

"Oh, don't worry,"Lotor called,"Just some hallucinogen Haggar cooked up." He looked at the guards, "You can drag him back to his cell when you give it to him."

Lance struggled frantically to get out."I don't want it! Stop!"Lance pleaded. His voice cracked from the strain. 

One of the guards pulled up the sleeve on his right arm and stuck him with the needle. Lance winced in pain as they injected him. Lance's whole arm felt like it was on fire. After that, they dragged him back to his cell. 

Lance sat in the dark, shivering. Man, he was hungry. And on top of that his arm felt like it was burning even more than before. Stuck in the darkness, Lance lay on his back in the middle of the room. A little bit of light shone in through the hallway window, illuminating a little bit of the room. Lance's head started to hurt, and his vision went blurry. 

Lance looked up from the ground to see the door opening slowly. It was Keith. "Keith?" Lance called.

"Yeah it's me," Keith smiled. He was wearing his Voltron uniform. Suddenly Pidge and Hunk appeared behind him. 

"We're here to get you out." Hunk said. He and Keith came inside while Pidge held the door open. "Are you alright?"

"Oh man am I glad to see you guys." Lance exclaimed. He tried to get up but found that his legs wouldn't move. Lance looked over at Keith.

"Did you tell them anything?" Keith asked.

"Who? Lotor? " Lance asked, using his shaky arms to prop himself up."No of course not. " 

"You sure?" Keith asked.

"Yeah of course." Lance responded. He looked over at Hunk, who was staring at him in the same way. "Don't you trust me?" 

"I think he's lying." Keith said.

"What-no!" Lance exclaimed. "I didn't tell them anything!"

"C'mon, lets just leave him." Hunk said." He's a traitor."

"Hunk!" Lance screamed." I promise I didn't say anything!" 

"Right," Keith said, turning to leave." Allura's piloting the blue lion again anyway, so he's useless to us." 

"She's a much better paladin than you ever were"

"Glad we won't have you holding us back anymore"

"We don't need you"

Lance tried to go after them, but he couldn't move. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his friends leave one by one. 

Lance bolted upright on the floor, breathing heavily. It was just a dream, he reassured himself. But it felt so real. 

Suddenly the door burst open.

" Lance!"

"We've come to save you!"


	12. Twelvey

Another day had passed without any sign of Lance. The eerie silence in the castle was almost unbearable. 

It was almost nighttime now, and Keith had found himself in Lance's room yet again. He was sitting on his bed, propped up against the side of the wall. Keith turned the photo of him and Lance in his hands. He had taken it down off the wall so he could keep it. 

Keith heard the door swish open. He turned to see Pidge walking quietly through the door. "Oh, Keith." Pidge said, surprised to see him. 

"Hey." Keith replied. Then, much to Keith's surprise, Pidge crawled onto the bed and sat next to him.

They sat in silence for awhile, shoulder to shoulder on the bed. "I miss him a lot." Pidge said.

"Me too." Keith responded."It's a lot different from when Shiro was gone."

"Yeah, we weren't able to be sad for Shiro back then cause Lance was there." Pidge added. "Remember that time he tried to make a cake?" 

Keith laughed."That was definitely not a cake." Pidge giggled. 

Then, the door opened again."I heard laughing, is Lance back?" Hunk called half-heartedly. He saw everyone on the bed and crawled up on the other side of keith."What's that?"

"It's a photo Lance took." Keith said, handing it over to him.

Hunk smiled."He did take a lot of them."

"Its nice though, that he did." Pidge said. "Something to remember us all by." 

The three of them stayed there most of the night, just talking. That is, until Coran came in and made it weird. 

The alarm sounded in the morning, gathering the paladins for another mission."Is it Lance?" Hunk asked when they had all assembled. 

"No, but a nearby planet is in danger. " Allura explained. "The Galra are stealing the planets resources, leaving the people with almost nothing. "

"Thats terrible.." Pidge said.

"While we're at it, Pidge and Keith, try to find any information about Lance on the ship," Shiro said,"Then meet back with the rest of us and help take back the planet."

"Got it." Keith and Pidge replied. 

Keith and Pidge had made it safely onto the ship, and were making their way to the prisoners first. Keith slashed at the door controls, opening it. There were only three captives from the planet below, and two from elsewhere. "You're safe, come with us." Pidge called. They filed out into the hall. Pidge took the lead as they made their way to the escape pods. 

"Thank you for rescuing us." One of them said before getting in. Keith smiled back. 

"Paladin," Keith turned to see one of the foreign aliens looking up at him." Was there one of you that wore blue?"

Keith stared in shock. "Yes, we're trying to find him. Is he on this ship?" Keith asked, stepping closer to the alien. He exchanged glances with Pidge, who was listening intently.He looked a little like Slav, but with horns and more claws. 

"No, he's not on this ship anymore. I saw him being dragged down the hall four or five nights ago. They first put him in a different room, but when I saw him again he didn't have his blue clothes on. After that they kept him in the room down there." The alien pointed to a door down the hall. "Though I think they moved him a few days ago when the ship came here."

"How do you know he's gone?" Pidge interjected.

The little creature fidgeted a little, looking at the ground. "Every day, we could hear his screams.. they stopped two days ago, meaning they must've moved him somewhere else." 

Keith couldn't believe his ears. Pidge and he exchanged worried glances. "I'll go check just in case." Keith sprinted down to the room and opened it. The first thing Keith noticed was the metal contraption in the middle of the room. The second thing he noticed was the mechanical thing near the door. Keith stepped inside, looking for signs that Lance might've been there. 

Pidge suddenly appeared next to him."The others are all went with the escape pod. " He nodded. Keith went over to the big metal thing, and Pidge inspected the control box. 

"What do you think this is?" Keith asked. 

"I dunno. " Pidge said,"Stand back for a sec, I'm gonna try something. " Pidge typed some stuff into the control bow." I'm trying to get the security camera feed-"

"Pidge..." Keith whispered.

"What?" Pidge looked up. Keith was next to the metal thing, staring at the edge. The color had drained from his face. 

"There's blood here." Keith said weakly. "They had him tied up here.." 

Pidge froze. Keith couldn't breathe. He couldn't think for a moment, but then realized Pidge was there. She didn't need to see this... He thought. "C'mon, hurry up with the information gathering, we gotta go. "

"Uh, right." Pidge snapped out of her daze and continued working. Keith walked back to the door, waiting. She plugged in a drive and extracted all the data. "Okay, lets go." 

Back in the halls, they made their way back to the lions. There was a door coming up on their left. "Keith wait." Pidge said. 

Keith stopped."What? We have to go, Pidge."

"I know, but.." Pidge stared at the door. "I wanna check in here." She said, pointing to the door.

"What? Why?" Keith asked. 

"That's where he said Lance was when they first brought him in, maybe there's some clues or something." Pidge said.

Keith had a bad feeling about this. "Okay, but hurry. Shiro and the others need us down there."

"Thanks. " Pidge said. She hurried to the door, pausing to take a breath before opening it. They both went inside.

Immediately, Keith wished they never went inside. 

"I couldn't find any information about his whereabouts, but I was able to get the surveillance feed for one of the rooms that Lance was in. "Pidge explained. "One of the captives there had seen him, so we know that he was definitely there. "

"That's great!" Hunk exclaimed. "We're getting closer to finding him, what did you guys see on the surveillance footage?"

Pidge and Keith exchanged glances,"We haven't watched it yet." Keith said." We were hoping to catch one of the soldiers talking about where he was, but now I don't think its a good idea to watch it.."

"What? Why not?" Hunk exclaimed.

"I don't think you guys should watch it either, but there still might be clues to where he is now. "Shiro said. Hunk seemed to understand now. He was looking at his feet in dismay. 

"I want to watch it." Pidge said.

"I'm the only one that's going to watch it. You guys don't need to see it, and that's final. "Shiro started. 

"Alright, the rest of you, out." Allura said, shuffling them all out. Once the door shut, Allura didn't go back inside." Even Coran and I don't want to see that. " She muttered, turning to leave."You all get some rest, Shiro will let you all know when he finds anything. "

Matt went off to his room, but Pidge, Hunk and Keith stayed. "Hey Pidge.." Hunk whispered."You can.. hack into it right?" 

Pidge looked at him." Are you suggesting I break the rules and allow you and Keith and I to watch whats really happening to our friend?"

"....yes." Hunk replied.

"Alright then, meet in Lance's room in five minutes." She said, hurrying off to fetch her laptop. Keith exchanged glances. They all knew what could be on those videos, but all of them wanted to see for themselves. Even if they didn't watch all of it, they wanted to know if their friend was all right.

Hunk and Keith had made it into Lance's room first, and Pidge followed, jumping lightly on the bed with her laptop. Keith and Hunk sat on either side, watching the screen as Pidge hacked her way into the video Shiro was watching. Keith realized that none of them actually wanted to watch it, but it was like they had to. They had to know.

"I'm staring it at four days ago," Pidge commented. Then the video started. 

On the screen they could see the room Keith had been in on the ship, and standing in front of Lance, was Lotor himself. Lance was tied to the metal thing Keith and Pidge had seen earlier. Lance was wearing his under-suit, and was bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

Hunk looked away from the screen for a moment, tears gathering in his eyes when he saw his friend like that.

Keith could tell Lotor was running out of patience.*So let's try this again, Paladin.* Lotor said through the computer. *What's your name?*

Keith could see Lance pausing for a moment. *Lance.*

*Now you're catching on Lance!*Lotor exclaimed. *Now, how many people are a part of your team?*

*Sure you can count that high?* Lance retorted. Keith smiled at that, but deep down he was scared for him.

*Wrong answer.* Lotor snapped. On the screen, they could see him pressing a button.

Pide and Hunk immediately looked away as Lance's body tightened in pain from the shock. His eyes were closed tightly and his hands were clenched into fists. Keith couldn't stand to watch, but he never took his eyes off the screen. 

"This is so cruel.." Hunk whispered. Lotor had stopped, and Lance was now coughing and gasping for air. 

*How many people are a part of your team? *Lotor repeated.

*Go to hell.* Keith winced as the electricity started again. Just tell him what he wants to know Lance, Keith screamed to himself, Save yourself the pain, I don't care if you tell them everything. Keith looked away, and up at the photos on the wall. You don't deserve this, he thought.

*WHy are you protecting them? They abandoned you.*

*You.. don't ...know that..*

*Oh really? Then why are you here Lance?*

*It... was my..choice..*

*They won't come for you. They don't need you anymore, they'll just let you die right here Lance*

*I dont care.... what you say....*

*I-I.. won't give up..*

Those four words broke Keith's heart. Pidge closed the computer, tears streaming down her face. Hunk had stopped watching awhile ago, and was crying as well. Keith wiped his eyes and left the room. He didn't want to stay there anymore. He wanted to find Lance, even if he had to sacrifice himself to do it.

Lance had lost track of how long he had been there. He was laying on the ground in his cell. It was all he could do under the circumstances. Lance would kill for some water right now. 

His cell door opened, and two guards came in. "No Lotor today?" Lance rasped. His throat was so dry he could barely speak. 

"Do you ever shut up." One guard said, kicking him in the stomach. Lance rolled over in pain, groaning. 

"cheap shot." Lance sputtered. They hoisted him to his feet and half dragged him out and into the hallway. 

As they were walking, Lance noticed no other guards were around. Now was his chance. He took a breath. I just have to take out these guys first, Lance thought to himself. 

"Whats that?" Lance exclaimed, looking ahead of them. He smiled as both guards fell for it, looking in the direction he had looked. During that moment, Lance put all of his body weight into shoving the guard closest to him into the wall. To his luck, the guy hit his head against the wall, dazing him. 

"What the-"The other guy exclaimed before Lance used his big and heavy handcuffs to knock him to the ground. 

Lance didn't waste any time and started running back the way they came and down the hall. Exit, exit... Lance muttered. There had to be an escape pod or something around here. He kept running when suddenly another guard appeared in front of him.

"After him!" He looked behind to see the two guards from before were chasing him. Lance turned the opposite direction.

Dead end. By then, all three guards had him cornered. Lance didn't feel like he could run anymore anyways. So he darted at the closest guard, trying to either get by or take him out. He managed to bring him to his knees before another guard hit Lance. He stumbled to the ground, vision temporarily clouding over. He tried to stand, but fell. 

"I really hate his determination." One guard muttered, kicking him in the side again. Lance was knocked against the wall, he could taste blood in his mouth. Lance rolled over, coughing blood onto the floor. "We got this from here." The guard said. The third guard nodded, continuing on with his patrol. 

The two guards rent to grab Lance, but he swung his leg around, knocking one off his feet. Lance smiled as he fell to the ground. 

"You little-" He growled, getting up. Lance couldn't do anything as he watched the guard get up. He stomped over to Lance in an angry haze."You'll pay for that." 

Lance screamed as his leg snapped under the guards heel.

After that, Lance was tied up again on another metal thing. Lotor had tried questioning him again, but when he realized Lance wasn't going to talk, he broke all his fingers on his left hand. 

Then Lotor had ordered Lance to be left tied there without food or water until he decided to talk. And he left. 

That was the last time Lance ever saw him.


	13. Thirteen wow this is sad

Keith was sitting on the couch when Shiro opened the doors. He asked Keith to go find Allura, so he went with the two of them into the main room. The video was paused with two Galra soldiers cleaning up the room with Lance unconscious. He was still tied up, and his wrists were all bloody. They all avoided looking at the screen.

"Shiro?" Allura asked. Shiro looked up from his daze.

"Oh, I was going to ask you what these two were talking about." Shiro asked. He rewound the video and played it. 

It seemed as though the two guards were chatting in another language. "They're complaining about cleaning up after Lance every day... good thing today's the last day, Lotor is moving him to the other ship.. heading to..." Allura's eyes lit up. "They're going to Anastas!"

"That's great!" Keith exclaimed. 

Shiro smiled, leaning against the wall,"Finally."

"Alright. We leave in the morning." Allura said.

"What?" Keith exclaimed. 

"We have to go now, they could already be on the move." SHiro explained."Allura, we can't wait."

"I know, but its only two hours til morning, get some rest, plan something, eat, and I'll wake the others." Allura commanded. Keith hardly realized he had been up so long. Without a sun or a moon in space, telling time was difficult if it weren't for the castle lights. 

"Fine." Keith responded. This was it. They finally knew where he was, and Lotor didn't suspect a thing.

*Okay Paladins! Lets go save Lance!* Shiro called over the headset.

*Right!* Everyone replied.

Keith was back in his lion, raring to go. They had just arrived at the planet. It's surface was covered in tall, black trees. Right away, Matt and Coran located the Galra ship above the atmosphere surrounding the planet. So the paladins hid on the surface of the planet, preparing an attack from below. 

It was Allura's job to guard the castle and Hunk's Lion, while the rest of them snuck aboard the ship. It was a surprisingly small ship, out in a remote area. To be honest, it was smart to set a small ship in a secluded place as to not draw attention, but in case of an attack, team Voltron had the advantage.

Hunk rode with Pidge as the four of them approached the ship. Pidge went first, cloaking her lion and creating an opening in the wall of the ship. Suddenly the Galra ship's defenses appeared, firing at the Black and Red Lions. 

*Keith, follow Pidge and Hunk, I'll cover you from out here* Shiro directed.

*Okay* Keith responded, steering the Lion through the mess of Galra ships as they battled it out with Shiro. 

He quickly found Pidge and Hunk within the ship, fighting off two guards. "It will take too long to download the schematics, we'll have to split up and look for him." Pidge explained."It's a small ship, but be careful. If anyone finds him or is in trouble, call us on the headset." 

"Got it" Hunk said. Keith nodded. 

Each of them took a different hallway, searching every door they came across. Keith ran out another room. "Empty again." He hissed. Keith ran down the halls, searching every door when he spotted it. 

Down the hall, there were a bunch of Galra soldiers together. "Where there are soldiers, there is something to be protected. " Keith muttered, sheathing his bayard.

He charged into the swarm of soldiers, slicing anyone that came his way. He made it to the door behind them and slipped inside before the rest could follow. He turned, facing an open area. Keith winced, one of the guards had left a gash on his arm without him noticing. 

"Just when I was about to leave, you all show up." 

Keith looked over to see Lotor, standing by a big clear glass door. On the other side of the door was Lance, lying unconscious against the wall. "Lance,"Keith breathed. Anger flowed through him as he charged at Lotor, sword swinging.

Lotor laughed as he dodged all of Keith's attacks. Keith almost clipped him with his bayard when Lotor kicked him in the stomach, sending him backwards. His arm was throbbing." Don't you want to save your friend?" Lotor asked, pressing a button on a controller in his hand. 

Keith stopped as a countdown started. "You have a choice, red." Lotor continued." Fight me, or save your friend from being ejected into space."

Keith froze. Lance was in the air lock. The countdown was already at five. Pushing down his anger, Keith sheathed his bayard and ran for Lance. 

"Good boy." Lotor smirked. He then disappeared out the door.

*I found Lance* Keith radioed. 

Keith didnt wait for a response. He reached the door with three seconds to go. It opened and he hurried inside, grabbing Lance. He hoisted him up over his shoulder quickly, time almost running out. Keith noticed how light Lance was as he carried him out. They barely made it before the countdown ended. Air started to get sucked out quickly, making Keith stumble. Breathing hard, he hit the lock button, closing the door. 

"Lance," Keith whispered, setting him down on the ground. He cradled his upper body in his arms as he sat down on the ground with him. "Lance, you gotta wake up."Keith whispered, tears springing to his eyes. There were bruises on his cheekbone and a cut on his head. His eyes were closed.

Lance seemed to hear him and his eyes fluttered open slowly in response. "K-kei..th.." Lance rasped. He was barely conscious. Keith would have loved to hear Lance say something like, what took you so long, or any other one of his jokes. Keith just couldn't stand to see him like this. 

"Yeah, its me Lance." Keith replied, tears fell from his eyes. "You're gonna be okay, I got you."

"Is it... r-really you?" Lance asked. His voice was quiet. Keith felt a pang in his chest. Lance raised his hand up a little towards Keith, wanting to make sure it wasn't just another hallucination. His hand was shaking from the effort. "You're.. really here?" 

"Yes, Lance." Keith smiled, grasping his hand. It was cold. Keith brought Lance's hand up to Keith's face."I'm here Lance." Lance's eyes teared up as his hand touched Keith's face. 

"I didnt... tell them anythign..."Lance coughed.

"I know, I know.." Keith repeated, biting back the tears."You did great."

Lance's hand dropped, and his eyes closed for a moment. "No no no, Lance, stay with me. Stay awake." 

Lance's eyes opened a little, focusing on Keith. "I'm gonna get you out of here." Keith reassured. He moved to pick up Lance, stopping when he flinched in pain. "Sorry, it might hurt a little."

"They may have.. broken... a few ribs..." Lance murmured before passing out. 

"Lance!" Keith called softly. He moved to pick him up, carefully. "Come on, stay alive Lance. " He whispered. 

Just then Hunk appeared from down the hallway."Keith!" He shouted, sprinting over to them. He stopped midway when he caught sight of Lance. " Is he-"

"He's alive." Keith said. "Where's Pidge?" 

"She's coming, here, let me take Lance, we need you to get out of here. " Hunk said. His eyes were all watery. Keith handed him over gently, taking his bayard out again. Pidge then appeared from where Hunk ran in.

"Is he-" She called, racing towards them.

"He's just unconscious." Hunk said, now carrying Lance.

"Thank god." Pidge muttered, wiping her eyes. "Lets get out of here."


	14. Chappy 14

They all reached their Lions quickly, Hunk took Lance and went with Pidge in her lion, while Keith took Red. *How is he?* Keith asked.

*Still unconscious* Hunk informed. *But he's not doing great* 

*You guys got him??* Shiro called.

*Yeah, he's in bad shape, but he'll be okay* Pidge explained.

*Lets bring him home Paladins* Shiro said happily.

*Matt's bringing your Lion to the castle Hunk, I'll meet all of you there* Allura called. *Glad that Lance is alright. *

From the look of things, Kieth thought, "alright" was an overstatement. 

Keith rushed out of his Lion and into the castle to help Hunk and Pidge with Lance. He met with Shiro in the halls and they both went to assist. 

Hunk was walking carefully with the still unconcious Lance down the mouth of Pidge's Lion. Pidge was right behind him. Hunk handed Lance to Shiro before stepping over the mouth of the Lion. "Careful." Shiro said. 

Lance hardly moved. Matt came through the door, "Bring him through this way, we can't put him in the healing pods yet."

Shiro and the others followed Matt. "Why can't they put him in the healing pod?" Hunk whispered.

"Because the healing pods don't magically heal you, they make your body speed up its healing process. If someone doesn't have a healthy enough immune system, or any nutrients in the body, the fast-pace healing could make it worse, and eventually the body will shut down due to over-exertion." Pidge explained. 

Hunk winced. "Thanks."

Matt led the way to the common room where Allura and Coran had set up a space for Lance. They used the table by the couch and laid a sheet over it. Allura was in her regular clothes, she had already changed out of her uniform. They also had various medical supplies piled on one side of the couch.

"Lay him down over here." Allura gestured. "Ah, he looks terrible..."

Shiro set him down on the table gently. "What do we do now?" Hunk asked, while Coran had picked up a mirror-like object. 

"First we have to find out what his injuries are, then treat him as much as we can so he might be able go into the healing pod." Coran explained. He held up the hand-held mirror. " This thing will allow us to see if any of his bones are broken ." 

As Coran scanned Lance, everyone crowded around worriedly. "Oh my, "Coran said." It seems his right leg is broken, two ribs are broken, ones cracked, and all his fingers in his left hand are broken. "

"Poor Lance." Pidge whispered. Keith watched Lance as his chest moved up and down with every ragged breath. 

"Allura, can you bandage up his wrists?" Coran suggested. They were bleeding a little, and it had stained the sheet underneath him.

"Right." Allura said. "Pidge, could you help me? We need to clean his wrists first, then wrap them in bandages. Be careful around the hand with broken fingers." 

" He's got a pretty bad fever, too." Coran said, feeling Lance's forehead. "Keith, Hunk, go grab a tub of warm water, and get some blankets."

"Okay." Hunk replied. He and Keith hurried out. 

"Shiro, get some cold water, and Matt, bring a few towels and more bandages." Coran said, turning back to Lance. 

"Right." Shiro said. He and Matt followed after Keith and Hunk. "Allura, can you help me take off his shirt?" 

"Yeah. " She said, moving to assist him. She was careful around his broken fingers as they took it off. Once it was off Pidge gasped softly at the sight of him. 

There were bruises almost covering his chest completely, as well as the wound that had re-opened a few times after he had been shot. The wound had healed a little bit, but was caked in blood, and from being kicked all the time it didn't have time to properly seal. On top of that, they could see almost all of his ribs, he was so skinny. 

Coran got to work on the wound where Lance had been shot first. All four of the boys had returned and Coran used the towels to soak up the blood, then handed it to Keith, who rinsed it in the water. Matt had dipped a smaller towel in the cold water and started cleaning the blood off Lance's face. Hunk was too terrified to get any closer, and was left with the task of fetching clean water every now and then. 

With almost all of Lance's wounds cleaned and bandaged, Shiro led the others out of the room while Coran and Allura stitched the wound in his abdomen. 

"Keith, you're hurt," Shiro noticed. Hunk and Pidge stood by the door, pacing around. 

"I'm fine. " Keith muttered, even though he could barely feel his arm anymore. 

"Here, let me patch it up for you. " Shiro said, grabbing some supplies. Keith didn't argue as he cleaned and wrapped his arm in bandages. 

"Thanks. " Keith said. 

"Why don't you guys go change out of your uniforms, then come straight back. " Shiro suggested. So they all hurried into their rooms and back, including Shiro. 

"Any news?" Keith asked. 

"His wound's all stitched up," Matt informed, "They're working on his leg right now."

"Okay, good." Hunk sighed. 

They were all sitting in front of the door, waiting to be let back in. Pidge had her knees to her chest, head in her hands with Matt sitting next to her. Hunk couldn't sit down, and was pacing around the entrance. Keith was sitting against the wall, and Shiro had gone back inside to help. 

It had been about two hours by the time they were let back in. Allura and Coran were sitting on the couch, tired from working nonstop to patch him up. 

Shiro explained that Lance's leg and fingers were set in splints, then wrapped, and his wound was all stitched up. He said that they gave him some medicine for the pain, so he might be out for a couple of days as well, and that he just needed time to rest before anything else. 

Keith looked at Lance, who was still laying on the table. They had put a blanket on him, and a cold rag on his head for the fever. Keith sat on the couch, watching his chest rise and fall with his breaths. He looks really pale, Keith noticed. They stayed there the rest of the day, and into the night, cleaning up. 

During all hours, someone had to be watching him in case something happened, good or bad. Since they didn't have much medical technology in space besides the healing pods, they were limited to what they could do. 

Shiro took the first watch while everyone else ate some space goop and went to bed. Shiro, Coran, and Allura would take the shifts until morning just in case Lance started to have trouble breathing or something. 

In the morning, Keith immediately went to check on Lance. When he opened the door he spotted Allura, sitting down next to Lance's makeshift bed. "How's he doing?" Keith called softly.

"Better, I think." Allura replied. She seemed pretty tired.

"I can take over watching him if you want to get some rest." Keith offered.

"You sure?" Allura asked, looking up at him. It was about six thirty in the morning. 

"Yea-" Keith started. Lance had started mumbling. Keith glanced at Allura, who was a little more focused than before. "Is he okay?"

"He's probably just having a dream." Allura suggested. 

Then Lance started moving. It wasn't quite like he woke up, more like he was flinching away from something. His eyes sort of fluttered open a little as he tried to get up. "Woah, Keith hold him down." Allura instructed, getting up. "If he moves around too much he could open is wounds again." 

"Kay.." Keith responded, moving to grasp Lance's shoulders. He pushed Lance back onto the makeshift bed, holding him down. Allura held his left arm, but his right arm was clenched in pain. 

"S-s..ttop..." Lance pleaded. "Dont....I..don't want....no...." 

"Allura, what now?" Keith called.

"Keep him still." Allura directed as she let go of his arm to go fetch something. 

Lance had stopped struggling had started coughing now. His whole body shook with each breath. "Quickly, turn him on his side." Allura called. 

Keith did as instructed, careful not to hurt any of his broken bones. Once on his side, Lance had continued coughing until he coughed up blood. "Allura!" Keith called, panicking.

"Im coming." Allura rushed over and stuck a needle in his arm, injecting something into him. 

It seemed to calm him down, and Lance was back to being unconscious. The door opened and Shiro ran in."Is everything okay?" 

"Yeah, he was just having a little trouble breathing." Allura explained. She turned to Keith. "You can lay him back on his back, I think that when he was trying to speak, it caused him to start coughing. "

"okay, but why was there blood?" Keith said, laying him back down. He pulled the covers back on him and rinsed another cold rag to put on his head.

"One of his organs were bruised, it was probably just that." Allura sighed. "He'll be fine."

"Blood?" Shiro asked worriedly.

"No, it's alright now." Allura sighed, sitting back down. Shiro sat on the couch, worried about what had happened. 

During the day, almost nothing new happened. No good or bad news to speak of. It was Keith's turn to watch Lance for about three hours, and then it was Pidge's turn. Everyone was around the castle, doing small tasks to keep their mind off Lance. Hunk visited Lance almost nonstop, telling him stories and things. 

Keith was now all alone with Lance. He wasn't much for telling stories, so he just sat in silence. Every so often Lance's hand would twitch, and Lance couldn't help but stare at the bandages wrapped around his wrist. 

Keith reached over and put his hand over Lance's. His skin felt warm to the touch. Must be the fever, Keith reasoned. He traced his fingers over Lance's hand, moving softly against his skin.

During that time Keith was holding his hand, Lance's hand stopped twitching.


	15. Sad boi hours

"Guys!" Hunk yelled. Keith sprang up from his chair and started towards Lance's room. It was Hunk's turn to be watching him. 

Keith burst through the door, Pidge and Matt following behind him. "Hunk? Whats wrong?" 

"Guys come here, he's waking up!" Hunk exclaimed. It had only been three days since Lance arrived. 

"What reallly?" Pidge exclaimed, dashing to Lance's side. The rest of the group arrived, wondering why they were all crowded around Lance. 

"Give him some room guys." Shiro said, stepping closer. They all stepped back a little. Lance moaned softly, turned his head to the side, the cold compress sliding off. 

Everyone was silent. Then his eyes opened. Lance blinked, trying to focus. "Lance," Shiro said softly."Lance can you hear me?"

Lance inhaled sharply, wincing."Whe..." Lance rasped. 

"Take it easy Lance, you're okay." Shiro reassured. "You're at the castle. You're safe." 

Lance tried to move, but stopped. He rested his head back down on the table, grimacing in pain. "You're...really here? " He managed to say, closing his eyes a little to block out the pain.

"Yeah, we're here." Shiro reassured. 

"Hey Lance," Hunk said softly, like if he spoke any louder Lance would fall back unconscious. 

"We're here for you buddy,"Pidge called. "Matt and me and Keith and Allua and Coran and Shiro, we're all here."

Lance's eyes closed , a tear rolled down his cheek. "pleas.." Lance sniffed. "..don't leave me."

"Lance its okay, "Shiro reassured. Keith couldn't stand to watch."We're not going anywhere." 

Pidge, Allura, Hunk and Coran had all started crying. Even Keith was tearing up. He was happy Lance was awake, but at the same time he felt sad that he was still so hurt.

"We aren't leaving your side." Keith said. He could tell that Lance was still super sleepy, and that the medicine that they gave him was pretty strong. Lance probably wouldn't even remember this conversation.

It looked like Lance was about to say something else, but instead he fell back asleep. After that everyone stayed with him.

The next day Shiro had everyone stop crowding around Lance. They were to continue with the schedule like before. It was now around two o'clock, and Keith was watching him. He seemed to be getting a little better, Keith thought. The fever had gone down a lot.

"Keith.."Keith looked up to see Lance staring at him from where he was laying. 

"Lance, you're awake," Keith stood up. 

"How.. where am I?" Lance rasped. 

"Uh, here, let me get you some water. " Keith panicked, getting the cup."You're in the castle."

Keith stepped closer to Lance, putting his arm around his back to help him sit up. He lifted the water to Lance's lips, careful not to spill. 

Lance had been super thirsty. It was his first cup of water since he got back. Before that, Coran had given him some supplements and an Altean thing that was kind of like what earth called an IV. Keith didn't know the details. Allura had told everyone that Lance wouldn't be able to handle solid foods just yet, and drinking or eating more than half a handful could cause him to throw up.

Keith was careful to only give him about half a cup of water. "is there any mor-" Lance asked, before he winced in pain. His breaths were ragged as he tried to sit up.

"Hey, just take it easy." Keith said. Lance laid back down slowly. 

"How long have I been here?"Lance asked."What happened?" 

"We rescued you about six days ag-." Keith started. Just then Alllura came in. 

"I'm here to give Lance his medicin-Lance!" Allura exclaimed."You're awake!"

Keith smiled. "Allura?" Lance asked. He was still kinda out of it. 

"How are you feeling Lance?" Allura asked, coming to his side.

"Better now that you're her-"Lance coughed. He seemed to be having trouble focusing. 

"The pain medicine's wearing off," Allura explained,"I'm going to give you something to help okay?" 

"You have a lot of injuries, so just sit still okay?" Keith said.

Lance grimaced, taking in a slow breath."Yeah"

Allura came back with a needle, filled with dark blueish liquid. Immediately Lance pulled his arm away." No.. no. I don't want that." 

"Lance its okay-"Keith reassured, moving to help him. 

"No!" Lance exclaimed, wincing as he sat up. Allura backed up a few steps."Stay away from me!" 

Keith stepped forward."Stop moving, you'll hurt yourself. "Keith said. "We just need to give you some medicine."

"Stop it, dont come near me!" Lance screamed. He backed himself away from them, half falling off the table. He had tried to stand on his broken leg, but stumbled to the ground. 

"Lance!" Keith called.

"You aren't real, Just leave me alone!" Lance screamed. He was on the floor now, up against the corner of the room. He was clutching his side and his uninjured leg was pulled up to his chest as he leaned his back against the corner of the room.

"Lance, just calm down, we arent going to hurt you." Keith called.

Allura had put down the needle, stepping closer to Keith. "Trust us Lance, you're in too much pain to think properly."

"You're not real." Lance repeated. Keith took a step closer, but stopped. "Stay away from me!" He screamed, pushing himself further into the corner. His shoulders were shaking. Lance was terrified of them, Keith realized.

"Lance-" Keith whispered. Then suddenly the door opened on the other side of the room and Shiro ran in.

"What's going on?" Shiro called.

"Shhh,"Allura called, stepping towards them. Lance and Keith stayed put."Lance woke up, and we tried to give him some medicine but he freaked out. "

Shiro nodded, seeming to understand the situation. He walked into the room with Hunk following. "Okay, lets just all calm down. "

"Keith, come over here, give him some space." Shiro directed. Keith did as he was told, and Lance seemed to relax a little. He was still shaking though. "Just relax, no one's going to hurt you okay?" 

Lance stayed silent. "We're all just going to sit here, and relax..." Shiro motioned. Hunk, Keith, and Allura followed his lead and sat down on the floor, about twelve feet away from Lance. 

"What do we do now?" Hunk whispered."He could hurt himself."

"We wait."Shiro whispered.

"Shiro-" Keith whispered impatiently. He glanced over at Lance. 

"Look, we don't want to force him,"Shiro explained,"We just wait until he falls asleep, then we can take care of him. He's too scared and in pain to do anything else."

"Okay," Hunk replied. 

"Under that much stress, he should be out soon." Allura commented.

So they waited. After about a half and hour, Lance had his head leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. Keith looked over to see his mouth was open and he was breathing softly. His hair was ruffled to the side against the wall.

"Is he asleep?" Hunk asked, looking over at him.

"I think so.." Allura responded. 

"Okay, hurry and get him back to bed. "Shiro said. Keith and Shiro approached him cautiously, and lifted him carefully out of the corner. He was definitely out cold. Hunk and Allura were fixing the makeshift bed as they set him down gently. 

Keith let out a breath, trying to calm his nerves. Seeing Lance like that had put him on edge. Allura gave him the medicine and almost immediately Lance's breathing got better. 

After that, Shiro and Allura checked his leg and re-did their makeshift cast. Keith and Hunk exchanged worried glances after being told to go eat lunch with everyone else. The four of them had agreed not to tell the rest of the team what had happened.


	16. It gets better

Lance had woken up a few times after that, and had completely forgotten about it. He was able to eat food now, without help, but Allura still waited until he was asleep to give him his medicine. 

Almost everyone stopped to talk to him every day, telling him stories, or just being there. Keith wasn't really good at that stuff, and everyone else was always there so he didn't talk much. Though, he was glad Lance was getting better. 

After a few more days, Coran said he was healthy enough to use the healing pod. So they put him inside to heal his broken bones and everything else. The healing process took about a week and a half, but someone was always checking up on him every day. When they went on missions, Matt looked after him. 

When he finally got out, he was all better. Except that he was super underweight. To Keith it seemed like he was always eating. 

Though Lance was supposed to be all better, Keith noticed he wasn't quite like his old self. He noticed that Lance was sort of, uncomfortable when people hugged or touched him. If someone even brushed against him, he would flinch away. When Hunk hugged him, Lance seemed a little shocked at first, but then he would hug back a little. Keith thought it was almost like he had to remind himself that it was okay. 

It was now nighttime, two days after Lance woke up from the healing pod. Keith was wide awake, turning the photo from Lance's room over in his hands. Keith was happy Lance was back, but he felt like it would take some adjusting. 

Keith felt a little hungry, so he decide to go get a little snack. He walked out into the hall, passing Lance's room when he heard something. It sounded like a yelp or something coming from Lance's room. 

Worried, he went inside, not bothering to knock. "Lance, are you-hey!"Keith whispered, rushing over to Lance's bed. Lance was sitting up, with his head in his hands. "Hey, it's okay."Keith whispered. He didn't know what else to say. 

Lance looked up at Keith, tears streaming down his face."K-Keith?" 

"Im here." Keith whispered, moving to sit on the bed. Lance wiped his eyes.

"Sorry to wake you, I just.." Lance sniffed. "Had a bad dream.."

"Oh.."Keith looked over at Lance. He didn't have a shirt on. "Want to talk about it?"

"Eh," Lance started."I ..dont remember it."

"It's okay. I wont say anything, I'll just listen." Keith said. More than anything, he wanted to be there for Lance.

Lance was quiet for a moment, as if he were considering it. "Okay.."

So he talked. And Keith listened. "I escaped out the door.."Lance continued,"And it was like nothing was really real.. I was back in the room again, and there were the guards. It just kept going on and on like that." 

After Lance was done, he seemed a little better. They stayed silent. Keith didn't know whether he should go or not. Part of him wanted to stay, but he felt like he was intruding. Keith sat up, about to leave when Lance grasped his hand lightly. It was warm to the touch

"Can you stay with me?" Lance whispered. 

"Always." Keith whispered back. 

Keith woke up in Lance's bed. Lance was already gone, probably to get something to eat. Keith felt his face get hot, recalling the night before. Lance had fallen asleep pretty quickly, but he didn't have any more nightmares. 

Better not mention it, Keith reasoned. It was only a one-time thing right? He thought. Deep down, Keith was happy that Lance trusted him that much. And it was nice, not sleeping alone.

The rest of the day, Keith couldn't help but keep an eye out for Lance. Not just to make sure he was okay, but, he couldn't help but stare when he was in the room. It had been a pretty uneventful day, and Keith was just sitting on the couch when Lance and Hunk walked in. 

"And then Coran came in," Hunk was saying,"You shoulda seen the look on his face!"

Lance laughed,"That sounds awesome!" 

Keith watched as they passed, when suddenly, Lance turned to look back. Keith looked away sheepishly as their eyes met. He pretended he didn't notice, but out of the corner of his eye, Keith swore he saw Lance smile. It was the first real smile Keith had seen since he came back. 

Sure, he smiled before, but Keith could always tell it was a little forced, like he was distracted by something else. This time, it was a genuine smile, and it made Keith want to punch something. Or run. Truth is, he didn't know what to do. So he just sat there in frustration until dinnertime. 

After dinner, the castle was quiet. Keith went to bed, exhausted from the training he did earlier this morning. He lay down on his bed, getting under the covers. But he couldn't sleep. 

Keith often couldn't sleep well, even when he was tired. He would end up just lying in bed, thinking. After awhile, Keith's door opened. "Keith?"

Keith sat up. It was Lance."Yeah?"

Silence. Keith felt his face getting red. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Keith froze. He felt like his face was on fire. Lance.. In his bed? He panicked. " yeah " was all he could think of to say. It's not like he wanted to sleep with him. But it wasn't like he didn't want to either. 

Without a sound, Lance walked over to Keith's bed and slid under the covers next to him. They were barely touching, but Keith was too nervous to move. All he could think about was "thank god he has a shirt on this time". 

Eventually, Keith calmed down. He turned on his side, facing Lance. Lance was already asleep, facing him. Keith listened to his breathing in the dark. He reached out and touched his face softly, stroking his cheek. 

Lance didn't even flinch. Keith stroked his cheek again. His skin was soft to the touch. Lance murmured something and Keith pulled his hand back, embarrassed. 

He stared at him a while longer, thinking about everything that had happened. His mind brought him back to the day Lance was captured, and the guilt he felt for not being there for him.

"I promise," Keith whispered aloud. 

"I will protect you"

Keith woke up first this time, silently slipping out of bed so he didn't wake up Lance. He looked over to Lance, who was sleeping softly in his bed with one leg sticking out of the covers. 

Keith made his way to the dining hall and got some food. No one else seemed to be up yet. After he finished breakfast, Keith decided to check up on the main room to see if there were anything going on in the galaxy for today.

The door opened and Shiro walked in. He looked sleepy."Oh, Morning Keith." He called.

"Hey Shiro." Keith replied."How'd you sleep?" 

"Could've been better." Shiro grumbled."What about you?"

Keith felt his face getting hot as he recalled his second time sleeping with Lance. The extra body heat had put him right to sleep. "Uhh, yeah..umm, it was fine." Keith stuttered, awkwardly making his way to the door. "See you later."

Shiro stared after him, confused as Keith made his way to the control room. "Keith, great timing!" Coran exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Keith replied, looking up at Coran as he entered. 

"I need you to hold this in place for me while I seal it." Coran asked.

"Uh, okay." Keith said, making his way to Coran's side. Coran handed him a few wire-like things and a small crystal. 

"I'm repairing the alarm systems,"Coran explained, "One of the mice must've chewed it last night. Hold those two like this.." Coran instructed. Keith did as he was told while Coral binded them together. 

"Alright, that should do it." Coran huffed. Keith stepped back as Coran pressed the activation button.

Suddenly the alarm went off. "Oh dear!" Coran hurried to the control pannel.

"Is this supposed to happen or is this a real alert??" Keith exclaimed.

"It's real all right!" Coran shouted, turning off the alarm. "Its a distress signal from a nearby planet called Miroedova, the alarm was off so we didn't detect it until now. We have to hurry!"

The door opened behind Keith and Hunk, Shiro and Lance ran in. "Nearby planet is in danger, not sure of the specifics yet, but you all need to hurry and get to your Lions!"

"Okay!" Lance responded as all four of them went to their lions.

They passed Pidge in the hall and filled her in, while Allura and Matt joined Coran in the control room. "Lance, are you sure you're okay?" Keith heard Shiro call.

"Don't worry! "Lance called back with a smile."I'm looking forward to this, I haven't ridden Blue in forever!"

Keith chuckled, glad he was back to his old self again. They made it to their Lions while the Castle jumped to the planet's location. 

*Alright Paladins, you'll have to be really careful with this one.* Allura radioed.*According to the distress signal, the Galra have the Miroedovans constructing something for them. We need to first make contact with the survivors and formulate a plan to destroy the weapon *

*Just leave it to us Allura* Shiro called

*Oh yeah, this is gonna be a piece of cake!* Lance exclaimed.


	17. sad boi hours part 2

Keith got out of his Lion and made his way to the others. The team had hid their Lions in the mountain range where Allura said the rest of the Miroeovans were. 

Pidge, Shiro, and Lance were talking with the planet's people, swapping information. From what Keith could tell, the Miroedovans were kinda like big groundhogs. They were forced by the Galra to gather a special unbreakable metallic material from underground so the Galra could use it to make a new robot. 

Hunk appeared beside them."Guys, I have a visual on the weapon. Its like a giant robot basically, but they have Miroedovans working on it constantly so we'll have destroy it from the inside."

"Our people can assist you." The Miroedovans nodded. 

"Thank you."Shiro said. "So here's the plan.."

Keith went ahead, scouting the area. Lance and Shiro were right behind him, ready to place bombs inside the machine wile Hunk and Pidge freed the captives. Keith stopped, looking around the wall. There were two Galra soldiers standing guard by the doors. 

Keith signaled to Lance and Shiro. Together, they took out the guards, Lance firing one with his bayard, and Shiro took out the other with his arm. "Which door Shiro?" Keith asked.

"Er.. I don't know." Shiro shrugged. "You take the one on the left, Lance and I will take the one on the right. If either one of us find it, signal the other."

"Okay." Keith nodded. So he left the two and headed down the hall alone. 

Keith ran down quietly, checking for the entrance to the weapon. There was one last door at the end. Keith hurried to open it, stepping into a small clearing. "Hello Keith." 

Keith turned sharply. It was Lotor. "I was expecting you." Lotor smirked.

"What the- How are you here?" Keith stuttered, sheathing his bayard. 

*Keith we found the weapon* Shiro called. 

"We don't have that long, Keith. Long story short I need you to join me." Lotor said.

Keith paused, shocked."What makes you think I would even consider that?" 

"Oh I don't know, "Lotor pulled out a small remote."Maybe because I have the power to kill Lance at the push of a button."

Keith shook his head, pointing his bayard at Lotor."You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Lotor smirked."I put a transmitter inside him, so small you couldn't even detect it. I press this button, he's disabled for at least two days. I press this one, and he's dead." Lotor explained. 

Suddenly the door behind Keith opened. "Keith we found th-" 

It was Lance. Keith's eyes widened with fear. What was he doing here? Keith panicked. He shouted for Lance to stay back just as Lotor pressed a button. Immediately, Lance clutched his side and collasped onto the floor. "Lance!"Keith exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Lance, hey stay with me." He was still breathing. Keith looked up at Lotor."What did you do?!"

"As I said before,"Lotor shrugged,"With the push of a button, I can kill him. "

"What do you want?" Keith growled.

"It's simple." Lotor swayed."I want you to be my little spy, of course, and all you have to do is wear this transmitter."Lotor held up a little device, the size of a raisin. 

"No way."Keith hissed. 

"Wrong answer,"Lotor shrugged, pressing a button.

Lance immediately writhed in pain."Stop!"Keith shreiked." Fine! Okay I'll do it! Just stop hurting him."

"There we go." Lotor smiled. He tossed Keith the transmitter. "Keep it with you at all times, if you tell anyone about this or even try to alert your team, I'll know about it. And I'll kill him. "Lotor turned, "Oh, and just tell your friends he just collapsed, you'll see that even their scans won't find anything. Say anything else, I'll kill him. "

Keith glared at him, clutching the transmitter. He looked down at Lance, who was unconscious in his arms. Keith looked back up at Lotor but he was gone. 

Keith gritted his teeth and hoisted Lance on back. *Shiro, Lance is down* Keith reported,*I'm making my way back to the lions with him, can you handle the mission on your own?*

*Keith? What happened?* Shiro asked. He could hear the concern and worry in his voice.

*I don't know,* Keith lied. *He just collasped.*

Shiro was silent for a minute. Keith closed his eyes, waiting for a response. *Okay, go ahead. I can handle this.*

*Thanks* Keith murmured, carrying Lance back the way they came. The transmitter felt like lead in his pocket, but he wasn't going to give up. He promised he would find a way to protect Lance, even if he had to lie to his team to do it. 

They made it out of the base safely, without alerting the Galra. Keith paused near the edge of the forest, setting Lance down gently while he caught his breath. Keith took off Lance's helmet, making sure he was okay. 

Lance was still unconscious, breathing softly as if he were taking a nap. Keith sighed, taking out the transmitter. It wasn't anything special, Keith figured it was just a recording device. Though, he wasn't sure if it was filming them, or if Lotor could talk to him through it.

Keith put it away. He looked down at Lance. For a moment, Keith thought he seemed so peaceful. 

"I'm sorry."Keith whispered. 

Keith pulled Lance onto his back again and made his way to the Lions. Lotor's words rang in his head. Out for two days? Keith recalled. 

Behind him, an explosion rang out over in the Galra base. Keith walked faster, crossing into the area where they hid the Lions. *Allura?*Keith called.

*Keith? What happened? Are you okay?* She called. 

*y-yeah I'm fine.* Keith huffed, setting Lance down gently inside the red Lion. *But Lance collapsed, so I brought him back to my Lion.*

*Oh dear, Keith, can you make it to the castle?* Allura asked,*I'll come down and pilot the Blue Lion back up.*

*Yeah, on my way.* Keith said. He took the controls, ready to head back. Keith glanced back at Lance, who was still unconscious. Keith felt a pang of guilt in his chest and forced himself to look away.

Keith made it back to the castle safely. He carried Lance out of the Lion and was met with Coran and Allura. He handed Lance off to Coran while he and Allura went back down to fetch Blue. 

On their way back up they met up with the rest of the team and told them what happened. Shortly after, they met back at the castle. "Keith? What happened?" Hunk asked, gripping Keith's shoulders.

Guilt stabbed at Keith's chest. "I don't know, he just collapsed." Keith lied. 

"Geez," Pidge sighed,"How many times is this gonna happen? It's like he's got bad luck or something.." 

Lance was already in the healing pod, while Coran was scanning him for any reason why he might've collapsed. "Any news?" Shiro asked.

"It's strange actually, "Coran pulled at his mustache. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him."

"Huh?" Pidge looked up.

"How's that possible?" Hunk exclaimed from across the room.

"Well, "Coran paused. Keith bit his tongue. "It could just be exhaustion. Or it might not even be physical."

"Well, what do we do?" Pidge asked.

"All we can do is wait."Coran said. "The healing pod won't work if there's nothing to heal, and he should probably just wake up on his own in a few hours. Nothing serious."

Keith didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. But he really wanted to. He knew though, that if he did say something, Lotor would hear him and immediately kill Lance. 

So he left. He turned on his heels and walked back to his room. 

After some time to himself, Keith had come up with a plan. If Lotor was listening in on him, he wouldn't see anything wrong if Keith just wasn't there when information was being said. Sure, Keith thought, it's not much of a plan, but it's all I got. If I try to leave a note or leave the transmitter somewhere, Lotor might sense something was wrong. Plus, there might be some kind of sensor on there that senses whether or not he's still in possession of it. Maybe pressure or body heat sensors, Keith guessed. 

Either way, that was all he could do to help his team. For now. Keith wondered if he would get the chance to warn them. Either way, Keith had two priorities; His duties as a paladin, and Lance's protection. 

He didn't know how he was going to do both, but Keith wasn't going to give up. And he wasn't about to let Lotor take them away from him. 

Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge were all hanging in Lance's room while Lance slept. Shiro was looking at the photos on his wall while Pidge was on her computer next to Lance's bed. Hunk was looking over Pidge's shoulder at the computer, giving her helpful advice every once in awhile. 

Suddenly Lance sprang up from his bed screaming,"nO I wiLL nOT ARM WRESTLE yOU YOU'VE GOT A BOOGER ON YOUR FINGER!!!!" 

He had startled everyone so much the room went quiet. Pidge and Hunk exchanged glances. Lance blinked, still startled. "Lance?" Shiro asked.

"What the heck?" Pidge breathed. Hunk turned around to look at him. 

"That was the most terrifying dream I've ever had.."Lance whispered.

Hunk laughed,"I'm just glad you're awake!! We were so worried about you!" Hunk exclaimed, crawling on the bed to give him a hug. Pidge nodded, climbing over to embrace him as well. 

"What happened?" Lance asked," All I can remember is the mission, and when I went to go get Keith... I don't know." Lance mumbled. 

"It's okay, "Hunk said."No one else got hurt."

"And we totally kicked butt!" Pidge exclaimed, karate chopping the air. 

Lance laughed. "Hey Hunk, Pidge, why don't you get Lance some food? He must be starving." Shiro asked. 

"Mkay!" Hunk said. Pidge and Hunk let go of Lance and exited the room. 

As soon as the doors were closed Shiro sat on the bed next to Lance. "Lance,"He started."We don't know what happened to you back there, or if it'll happen again or not. So until we figure this out.." Shiro paused.

"You're suspended from Voltron."


	18. The End

Keith had avoided the rest of the paladins as much as he could. As far as he could tell, he hadn't revealed any useful information to Lotor. However, he had heard that Lance wouldn't be the blue paladin until they figured out what had happened to him. 

Keith was glad about that. He didn't have to worry about him on missions anymore, and there was a chance that the team would find out what was wrong with him. Though Keith knew the second one was a little harder, he still had hope. 

The next couple of days had been quiet, they went out to help a stranded ship once, but nothing too exciting. Keith sighed, holding out the small device Lotor gave him. He thought about the nights Lance came to sleep in his room. Nowadays, it was only after he had had a nightmare, or if he couldn't sleep. During the nights Lance didn't sleep with him, Keith felt a little lonely. He had gotten used to waking up next to Lance in the morning. 

There was a knock on the door and Keith immediately put it away."Yea?" Keith called. 

The door slid open and Matt stood in the doorway."We're having dinner in a few minutes, also discussing our next move against the Galra."

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." Keith said. 

"We might need your help forming the plan? You should come." Matt pressed.

"I said I'm not hungry," Keith repeated. "You guys just do it without me. "

"Oh, okay." Matt responded. "See you later then."

"Yeah." Keith breathed. He was sure that Lotor knew he was deliberately keeping information from him. Part of him wondered if Lotor would retaliate against him or just roll with it. Either way, Keith wasn't looking forward to their next encounter. 

About two weeks later the alarm went off again. In the past, they had alarms, but when they had gotten there, everything had already gone. Keith assumed it was Lotor, telling whomever it was that Voltron was coming. Keith sprang out of bed, getting into his uniform as quickly as possible. He went out into the hall, overhearing Lance and Shiro talking as he made his way to the main room. 

"But Shiro-" Lance whined.

"No, not until we know for sure that you're okay." Shiro scolded."I don't want to send you out there unless I know for sure you'll be okay. "

"But it's been two weeks! I'm fine now!" Lance protested.

"You were lucky Keith was there the first time,"Shiro exclaimed," You could have gotten captured again!"

Keith stopped walking. He didn't hear anything from Lance after that, only footsteps leading away. Keith worried that Lance was starting to feel useless. If he couldn't be a paladin, or help Matt, and Coran, what was there for him to do? But Keith couldn't help but feel relieved that Shiro didn't let him go. Who knows what could happen if he did go and Lotor was there. 

Shaking his head, Keith headed for his lion. He passed Hunk on the way, "Any idea what the mission is this time?"

"Oh, you know,"Hunk sighed,"Planet in danger, gotta save them from the terrors of the Galran empire. The usual."

Keith gave him a look, smiling. "Thanks." Keith responded as they split up to get to their lions.

"Miss me?" Keith called, climbing into the pilot seat. 

*Everyone ready?* Shiro called. 

*Ready!* Pidge replied.

*Me too!* Hunk responded. 

*Blue is good to go* Lance exclaimed. 

*Wha- Lance?!* Keith exclaimed.*What are you doing here?*

*Aw, Keith I knew it, You really do care!* 

*Lance* Shiro scolded. He sighed,*He managed to convince me he was okay, so I let him come.*

*It has been two weeks, and he seems fine* Hunk commented. 

*Yup!* Lance exclaimed. Keith's heart dropped. He wanted to say something, but Lance seemed so cheerful. 

*Alright guys, we've got to take out the Galra ships first this time, while the others protect the planet's people.*Shiro said. 

*Lance, Keith and I will go take out the ships while Pidge and Hunk protect the citizens. *Shiro explained, *We'll also have to rescue any people who are being held prisoner on the main ship.*

*Are you sure it's okay for Lance to be on the team going to the ship?*Keith asked, concerned.

*He said he's fine* Shiro said.*Plus, he'll be with us, so if something happens we'll be there. *

Keith sighed. At least I'll be there to protect him, Keith thought. 

*Alright! Let's do this!*Lance exclaimed. 

Keith stepped out onto the ship. He turned to see Shiro playing with the controls. Lance came up behind him. Keith was so nervous. He could just imagine all the bad things that could happen and it made him feel nauseous. "Hey Keith." Lance called quietly. Keith turned to see he had something in his hand. "Stay alert, we don't know what might happen." He said, handing him a letter.

Lance walked over to join Shiro, leaving Keith to puzzle over the piece of paper. He was about to ask Lance what was going on, but instead he opened the letter. It took him a few seconds to read it. Then he read it again, a smile spreading across his face. "Thank you." Keith mouthed towards Lance. 

Lance smiled cheesily and held up a peace sign before turning back to help Shiro. Keith laughed to himself and ran to catch up with them. Now, Keith was glad Shiro had brought Lance along. 

Keith followed Shiro and Lance as they made their way to the prison cells. They had already taken out most of the ships, and Hunk and Pidge had gotten everything under control on the ground. 

Suddenly an explosion rang out a couple doors down. It made the three of them stumble a little. "What was that?" Lance asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better hurry." Shiro said, continuing down the hall. Keith and Lance followed behind Shiro as they hurried. 

Shiro held up his hand, signaling for them to stop. Up ahead, Galra soldiers were patrolling the area. Keith and Lance activated their bayards. On the count of three the paladins sprang into action. Lance fired at one of the guards while Shiro and Keith took out the other two. "That was a piece of cake!" Lance exclaimed. "Now lets get the prisoners and go."

"You got it." Shiro said, opening the cell doors. They all stopped in their tracks, momentarily stunned. It was empty.

"Hello?" Lance called, stepping inside. Keith and Shiro followed him, looking into the darkness. 

The doors shut behind them."Hey!" Keith exclaimed, moving back to the doors. A light turned on, illuminating the room. 

Almost immediately, the paladins could tell that it was no ordinary prison cell. It looked more like the training room back at the castle, except the walls weren't white. Keith tensed up when he saw what else awaited them. 

Right in the middle of the room, stood Haggar in a dark purple cape. In her right hand, she held the control remote that Lotor had the last time they met. The one that could kill Lance with the push of a button. 

"Keith." Haggar spoke, holding up the remote teasingly.

"Fight your teammates."

"What?" Shiro exclaimed. "Keith?"

Automatically, Keith knew what Haggar was trying to accomplish. He also knew that he had no choice but to do as she said. "I'm sorry Shiro." Keith sheathed his bayard, swinging it at Shiro. He was careful not to actually hurt Shiro, but enough to satisfy Haggar.

Shiro quickly stopped it with his metal arm. "Keith stop!" Lance exclaimed. He couldn't use his bayard in close range without injuring Keith. 

"Whats going on Keith?" Shiro exclaimed, dodging Keith's attacks. He hadn't attacked Keith, only dodged. "Let's just talk his out okay?"

"I can't."Keith said through gritted teeth. Their battle was drawing closer to Haggar while Lance watched them battle. 

"Thats right Paladins," Haggar smirked. "There's no use talking to him. He's under my control now." Keith bit his lip. I have to do this, Keith repeated to himself, to save Lance. 

Suddenly Lance fired at Haggar. "Stop using your mind control-y thing and fight us yourself you old hag!" Haggar deflected it with a magic barrier with ease. Lance kept firing, keeping Haggar busy. 

Now that Haggar was busy, Keith had an opening. Shiro made eye-contact and they both nodded. Seconds later, they charged at Haggar.

"Fools!" Haggar exclaimed, struggling to keep them all at bay. She still had the advantage, but with all three of them it gave her a little trouble. "Now your teammate will perish!" 

"No!" Keith shouted, swinging at the remote. Then she pressed the button, watching Lance expectantly with a smile. She let out a wave of magic, sending all three of them flying back. Keith got up off the ground, looking over to Lance. 

He was laughing. 

-Few minutes earlier-

Keith opened the letter, reading it over in awe. 

Don't say anything while you read this.

We know what has been going on with you and Lotor, but it's okay. Pidge figured out a way to disable the device inside Lance. He's okay, but we need you to play along for a little longer. We have a plan. 

How did they know? Keith wondered. He was sure that he hadn't given anything away Keith reread it, a smile springing to his face. He was so relieved. Keith looked back over to Lance, who smiled a cheesey grin and held up a peace sign.

-Back to the present-

"How?!"Haggar exclaimed, pressing the buttons again. "How is this possible?!"

"Well, way back when Lotor threatened Keith,"Lance explained, standing up. "He forgot to check if I was still conscious." 

Keith looked over in surprise. So that's how he knew, Keith thought. Lance must've been conscious up until Lotor used it a second time. "No! That idiot!" Haggar exclaimed, throwing the remote. Keith took out the device Lotor gave him and smashed it between his fingers. Then Haggar suddenly calmed down."Well then, I won't need the remote to kill you, I'll just do it the old fashioned way. " She smiled an evin grin, taking out a dagger from her cloak.

Keith and Shiro got up quickly, rushing to Haggar before she could respond. She deflected their attacks easily, then teleported. Keith turned around to see her behind him. Haggar had the dagger in her hand, ready to strike. Lance fired at her, giving Keith the time to recover.   
Keith moved quickly to deflect the dagger, almost too late. Shiro came up beside Keith and swung his arm-sword, slicing the fabric on her cloak. 

Haggar gritted her teeth, angrier than before. "You won't get away that easily!" Haggar exclaimed. Then she vanished. 

Keith stood up, looking around the room for her. "Did we win?"Lance called.

"I don't know." Shiro sighed. They went in to regroup when suddenly she appeared.

"Lance!" Keith shouted, breaking out into a sprint. But he was too late. Haggar had appeared behind Lance, and stabbed him in the back before he could even turn around. Lance's eyes widened in surprise. His bayard fell to the ground as he stood there in shock. Then he fell to his knees. The blade was sticking out through his abdomen, right below his ribs. 

And then she was gone. "Lance!" Shiro exclaimed. They both ran to him. Shiro got there first, holding Lance steady. 

"I-I'm okay." Lance said, moving to stand back up. He stumbled a little and Keith put his arm around him for support. "I've had worse." Lance joked. 

"Looks like it's not a fatal wound, but we need to hurry back to the castle. "Shiro said. "Lance, put pressure on it. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."Lance groaned. He put his hand on his abdomen where the blade had been, putting pressure to stop the bleeding. His other arm was around Keith as they made their way out of the arena. 

"Which way?" Keith asked, looking to Shiro.

"Keep go-"Shiro was interrupted by a huge blast. The three paladins were thrown from the ship as it split in pieces. 

"Ah!" Lance exclaimed. He got hit by a piece of the ship, causing him to get sucked out into space.

"Lance!" Keith shouted as Lance fell into space. He was separated from Lance and knocked against the ship's interior. The impact broke his helmet, knocking it off and rendering Keith unconscious. 

Shiro was sent backward along with pieces of the ship's debris. "Keith!" Shiro shouted. Suddenly a piece of the ship came at Shiro, impaling his mechanical arm and trapping him in a floating pile of rubble. "Lance! Are you okay?" 

*Yeah, I'm heading back to Keith,*Lance radioed,*His helmet got knocked off, I don't know if he'll last much longer in space*

*Be careful!* Shiro called back. Lance activated the thrusters on his suit, making his way to Keith. *I'll try to contact the others*

He pushed some debris out of the way, pulling Keith to him. "Keith!" Lance exclaimed. It was no use. He was unconscious, and without his helmet, he couldn't breathe. Lance panicked, he could hear Keith struggling for breath as he looked around for the red helmet. 

Lance's heart dropped when he saw the helmet had been cracked. Lance looked back to Keith. His black hair floated around his eyes.

Without a second thought, Lance held his breath, taking off his helmet. Lance placed it on Keith, activating the oxygen and the lock mode as he floated in front of him. The lock mode would prevent Keith from being able to take it off until he was in a safe environment with oxygen. Lance took one last look at Keith before closing his eyes. He could feel the pressure of space suffocating him. 

Then he let go.

*Lance!* 

*Lance what's going on? What happened? Where's Keith?*

Keith opened his eyes. His throat hurt, and he felt cold. *Shiro?*Keith rasped. 

*Keith! Hunk and Pidge are on their way, do you know where Lance is? He was here just a second ago*Shiro asked. Keith looked around. We're in space? Keith thought to himself. He could only see debris around him. Then he realized that part of the ship had blown up. 

Keith turned around, spotting the familiar blue and white uniform. "Lance!" Keith shouted. He went to him quickly. Keith's breath caught in his throat when he noticed his helmet was gone. "Lance come one, stay with me." Keith said, gripping his uniform, holding him closer. Keith looked around for his helmet, but found his red one instead. It was cracked. Keith reached up to feel the helmet he had on, realizing what Lance had done. 

Lance opened his eyes a little, feeling someone grab onto him. "Oh no..no no no no no.."Keith sputtered. He tried to take his helmet off but it wouldn't budge. "Dammit Lance!" Keith cursed, trying to take his helmet off. Tears sprang to his eyes. 

Suddenly Keith felt a hand over his. He stopped struggling with the helmet, looking over at Lance. "Lance..." Keith sputtered. Lance held on to Keith's hand.

"It's my turn.. to save you.."Lance smiled. His eyes were barely open and his lips were turning blue. That was all the air he had left. He tried to take a breath but couldn't, feeling his chest tighten up.

Keith grasped him tighter, "No! It wasn't supposed to be like this!" Keith exclaimed. Tears were streaming down his face."I was supposed to protect you!"

*Help! Shiro! Anyone!* Keith screamed. 

*Keith?*

*We're on our way, what's going on?*

*Lance doesn't have a helmet.. He's suffocating!* Keith sniffed. Lance let go of Keith's hand, now floating in space. Keith panicked, watching helplessly as Lance's eyes closed in pain. He was suffocating, and Keith couldn't do a thing to help him.

"Lance!" Keith cried. He was frantic."Just hold on, help is on the way."

Lance didn't respond. "Dammit Lance! You gotta be okay, you're gonna be okay. Help is coming."

*I'm here* Hunk radioed. *Keith i'm coming to you*

*Hurry!* Keith exclaimed. Lance didn't have much time. He held him tight, afraid to let go. 

Suddenly, the yellow lion appeared. *Hunk!* Keith called.*We're here!*

*Hold on you guys!* Hunk called. The lion opened its mouth, carefully closing Keith and Lance inside. 

Kieth braced Lance as they landed on the floor of the lion. Keith's helmet made a kshhh sound, letting Keith know there was oxygen inside. 

Keith took off his helmet, grasping Lance in his arms. Hunk appeared through the door behind him. "He's not breathing!" Keith exclaimed. 

Hunk rushed over to their side, taking his helmet off. "Hurry, we need to start CPR." Hunk instructed. Keith sat back, giving Hunk room as he started compressions on Lance's chest. 

It wasn't working. "Come on Lance." Hunk muttered, trying to restart his heart.

Keith felt so useless. He was supposed to protect Lance, not the other way around. Tears streamed down his face. "Dammit, wake up Lance." Hunk mumbled. They were starting to panic. 

Hunk started to press down harder. Keith could see his eyes tearing up. He was starting to loose hope. "Hunk.."

"No! He's not dead yet!" Hunk screamed."I'm not giving upon hi-!"

Just then, Lance sat up, gasping for breath. He clutched his chest, coughing. "Lance!"Keith exclaimed. Hunk immediately wrapped Lance in a hug.

"You were dead!" Hunk cried."Don't ever do that to me again!"

Keith wiped his tears,"I'm so sorry Lance..Your heart stopped..."

"Its okay,"Lance breathed, smiling a little."It's working now." 

Keith sighed, sitting back. He was so glad Lance was alive. Hunk let Lance go, tears streaming down his face. Lance laid back down on the ground, breathing hard. 

"Lance! You're bleeding!" Hunk exclaimed. There was a dark red puddle forming on the ground underneath Lance. 

"Oh yeah.. "Lance breathed. He seemed completely worn out."I forgot.. about that.." 

Keith moved forward. "Hunk, I'll take care of Lance for now, can you get us back to the castle?" 

"Uh huh." Hunk sniffed. "If you die again I'll kill you." Hunk scolded Lance before disappearing back into his Lion. Lance let out a light laugh.

Keith went over, putting pressure on his wound. "Thank you, for saving me." Keith said. "But if you ever try something like that again I will-" 

"Kill me?" Lance smirked. Keith gave him a look. Lance smiled back, like he didn't regret a thing. He looked up at Keith with his deep blue eyes. "I couldn't just let my (boy)friend die."

Keith looked at him with surprise, blushing. He was angry at lance for pulling something like that, but at the same time, he didn't know what to think. "Well, next time, find a way to save both of us." He muttered.

Lance laughed, wincing. He closed his eyes as the lion made it's way back to the castle. Keith's hands were soaked in blood. With two entry points, it was difficult to stop the bleeding. He was loosing a lot of blood. 

Keith's moment of relief had ended. 

"Lance?" Keith called. Lance was out. "Come on, stay awake..." Keith moved to touch his face, trying to get him to wake up. He pulled his hand away when he realized he had smeared blood on his cheek. 

Keith sighed when he heard the Lion enter the castle. "You just rest up Lance."Keith said.

"I'll take care of you."


End file.
